Batman: I Am The Night
by Mixedfan8643
Summary: The legendary saga of the Caped Crusader, Batman, is retold in this epic new series that retells the story of the Batman and his infamous rogues. Join in as Batman fights against killer clowns, bat-creatures, mud monsters, two-faced criminals and so much more as the crusade against Gotham's crime is reborn in Batman: I Am The Night...
1. Prologue: A Night To Remember

Batman belongs to Bob Kane and Bill Finger

All related characters belong to DC Comics

Well ladies and gentlemen, fanboys and fangirls, the time has finally come! I am now going to create my very own Batman series! :D

The story will follow an episodic format like Heroes of Mobius and will have some minor changes to the source material to give it its own identity. But regardless, what you can expect is a great series that'll do Batman justice and I hope you all enjoy! :D

Let us begin…

 _Prologue: A Night To Remember_

It was just another night in Gotham City.

That was what so many people walking around the dark, dimly-lit streets of the infamous metropolis thought. Tonight was just like any other night that went on in this city: people walking around, flashing neon lights that lit up the dark streets and advertised the buildings that owned them, various activities going on and for some unlucky citizen roaming around at this time of night, a crime being committed. Gotham was infamous for its high crime rate, something that caused a lot of people who lived in the city to despise the night. Night was when crime got worse for reasons nobody could quite understand. Crime was going to strike again, but this particular crime that was about to happen would become more than just a mere criminal act committed on an average Gotham night. This crime was going to change Gotham forever and it would all start with a young boy.

A boy whose name was Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne had no idea of this. He and his wealthy parents were just exiting the Monarch Theatre and heading off home. The Wayne Family had just been to the theatre to see a movie, particularly a movie about the famed fictional Spanish vigilante Zorro. Bruce had been engrossed in the film by its fascinating concepts and sword-fighting action. He was still reeling with excitement as he walked with his parents away from the theatre. He was punching the air constantly, pretending to be brandishing his own sword.

"That movie was so cool mom!" he cried happily, "Zorro was so awesome the way he fought off all those bad guys and clashed swords with them! When I grow up, I wanna be just like him!"

"Ha, ha, ha, OK Bruce, settle down now." his mother, whose name was Martha Wayne, said gently.

"Let's keep up kiddo, we don't wanna be late for Alfred." the father, Thomas Wayne, said.

"I'll keep up daddy." Bruce chipped.

Bruce was not just an average kid that one saw on the street every day. He was quite possibly the richest eight year old boy in Gotham City. His father was the CEO of the billionaire company WayneTech, one of the many branches for the business corporation Wayne Enterprises. Founded as far back as the 1800s, the company had grown to be one of the most profitable businesses in the city. Thomas had been next in line to the fortune after the previous owner, his own father, had passed away. His estimated networth was said to be about 6.8 billion, maybe more. This made him not only one of the richest men in Gotham City, but one of the richest men in the world.

Thomas was also seen as a city hero due to his profession as a surgeon. He had saved many lives due to his skills and had become quite beloved among the public. His wife, Martha, had become equally as beloved due to sharing her husband's charitable nature and even hosting many lavish charity balls at their home, Wayne Manor to provide for the destitute people of Gotham. Bruce would become the next CEO of Wayne Enterprises when he came of age but that was something his parents had decided they would tell him about when he was older. No need to put pressure on such a young boy.

As the billionaire family walked, Thomas eyed a dingy looking alley-way that seemed to snake off into the darkness. It was like a long trail to a dark, empty void. This area was infamously known as "Crime Alley". Crime Alley was where most of Gotham's atrocities were committed, hence the nickname and many people knew better than to roam down that particular alley-way at night. Going through Crime Alley was considered an act of suicide by many.

"Hey, let's go down there." Thomas suggested.

"Down there?" Martha asked, doubtful, "I dunno Tom, that place gives me the creeps…don't you know that that's where the criminals like to hang out?"

"You really believe in that Martha?" the billionaire surgeon scoffed, "It's just a rumour people spread to scare people. Come on, we can cut through here."

"But it's so dark…don't you think Bruce might get a little scared around here?" his wife asked.

"Can we just wait for Alfred here dad?" Bruce asked, looking a little nervous. The dark alley-way didn't look inviting to him at all.

"Come on, let's go, we'll get to him sooner if we walk through here." Thomas ushered his family, his voice soft and gentle as if trying to reassure his wife and child everything was alright.

Shrugging, Martha decided to go along. Thomas had never let her down yet so why not trust him again? Bruce stayed close to his mother's side as the family entered the feared alley. The loud sounds of the busy city seemed to quieten as they walked in, almost as if the city itself was too afraid to follow them. The only sounds that were loudly audible were the echoes of their footsteps. Thomas and Bruce's smart shoes and Martha's high heels rapped in unison, almost making some kind of tune as they walked. Bruce grew ever more fearful as he allowed his eyes to wander. The heavy shadows blanketing the walls that towered over him were as black as night, foreboding and sinister. He wondered if there were monsters hiding in the shadows, waiting to attack.

Martha saw that her son was looking nervous and patted him on the shoulder to ease his nerves.

"It'll be alright darling, don't be afraid. We'll be out soon." she said kindly.

But then came the critical moment, the moment where Bruce's life would change forever, and in the most horrifying and unexpected way possible. One of the shadows seemed to detach itself from the others and came up towards the opulent family. Bruce clutched his mother tighter. A monster, just as he'd feared!

But it wasn't a monster at all, it was a man. The man had an unpleasant edge to him. The way he walked didn't seem quite normal and he had a rather serious expression on his face. He was shrouded in shadows, almost appearing to wear a cloak of darkness, so it was hard to make out any features he had. Thomas stopped and stared at the man, walking heavily towards them.

"Y-yes? Can we help you?" he asked curiously.

The answer he got was not what he had expected. The man pulled out something grey and black seemingly from nowhere and pointed it straight at the Waynes. It was a gun! The gun was small, ridiculously undersized in the man's huge hand, but that didn't make it any less terrifying. Thomas froze and Martha fought off the urge to scream. Bruce stared straight at the man, unable to believe what was happening. Tonight had been so wonderful, why was it turning so horrible all of a sudden?!

"Yes, ya can actually." the man snarled, "Your dame over there can hand over them pretty pearls of hers!"

He pulled back on the hammer, ready to pull the trigger. His hand trembled slightly, suggesting he was nervous. The Waynes couldn't see thanks to the shadows on his face but he was sweating. Martha put a hand over her pearl necklace, afraid to give them away. Thomas hoped that this man could be reasoned with. He held his hands up, showing he meant no harm.

"Now, now sir, we-we don't h-have to do this." he stammered, "Let's keep it civil, we don't need any of this…"

"The pearls, now!" the man barked, "Don't make me have ta shoot ya!"

"Mom, dad, what's happening? Why is that man threatening us?" Bruce whimpered.

"Stay calm Bruce, we can handle this, please don't fret…" Martha reassured, her voice shaky and betraying any attempts to soothe her son's worry.

"Listen sir, we're not looking for any trouble, just please put the gun down! You don't need to threaten us like this!" Thomas begged, "We just wanna get home and shut in for the night, please let us go."

"Just hand over the damn necklace!" the crook shouted, his hand shaking even more, "Hand them over nice and easy and nobody gets hurt!"

"We can't give you those pearls sir, they're too valuable." Thomas protested, "Come on, please, put the gun down…"

He took a step forward, prompting the man to point straight at the surgeon's heart with the gun. He held it with two hands now to keep it steady but the muzzle still twitched nervously in his grip.

"Stay where you are!" he demanded, "Don't make me shoot!"

"Tom, Tom, don't provoke him!" Martha begged.

"Easy Martha, I can handle this…" Thomas reassured, "Sir, come on now, there's no need for this, just put the gun down and we can…"

"SHUT UP!" the man exploded.

In his rage, his finger suddenly tightened on the trigger. A loud bang split the air and a flash lit up from the barrel of the gun as it spat out a single bullet straight into Thomas's chest. The billionaire stumbled backwards, taken aback by what had happened. Blood poured out of the single wound, staining his shirt. He tried to speak but no words would come out. Blood began to dribble out of his mouth. He let out one final cough as the air depleted in his lungs and then he collapsed, eyes still open and staring up into the sky as if trying to admire it one last time. Martha broke down into hysterics as her husband fell. Bruce staggered back, unable to believe what he'd just seen. Tears, hot and heavy, began to pour down his cheeks.

"DAD!" he screamed.

"TOM! OH GOD, OH GOD TOM!" Martha wailed.

The man looked as if he was regretting the fact he'd just had to do that to the poor man. But he quickly regained his composure and stormed up to the horrified woman.

"Shut up lady! Hand over the pearls!" he demanded, aiming the gun at her.

"N-n-no!" wailed Martha, "Stay back, stay away from me you, you…murderer!"

That last act of defiance was enough to provoke the killer again. Losing the ability to control himself, he squeezed the trigger once more and fired another bullet, straight between Martha's eyes. The wealthy woman didn't even cry out as she was hit. Blood exploded out of her head and splattered onto the ground. She collapsed, falling beside her husband. Her eyes were still open too, staring helplessly at the killer. Bruce began to shake all over, unable to take this horror any longer. He fell down onto his knees, breaking down hysterically into floods of tears.

"MOMMY!" he cried.

The killer stepped back, clearly looking ashamed of himself. This wasn't how it was meant to go! He was supposed to have just made off with the pearls and that was it, no bloodshed! And now there was a traumatized kid on his plate! He raised the gun, contemplating about shouting the grief-stricken boy who was kneeling over his beloved parents. Bruce didn't notice this. He was hyperventilating, his mind totally blank except for what was going on before him. His tears and sobs seemed to have melted the man's black heart for he found himself unable to shoot. No…not even he could stoop to such a low. There would be no child-death on his hands.

The man tucked the gun back into his holster and retreated back into the shadows, disappearing like a bad nightmare. Bruce didn't even hear his footsteps as he ran away, leaving him to do nothing more than to grieve for his parents. He was so shocked and shaken that he didn't even hear the oncoming sound of a police siren as a police cruiser approached the alley to investigate the sound of the gunshots…

* * *

Much later that night, Bruce had found himself sitting outside an office in the GCPD Headquarters. He had been whisked away in a police car and driven there by one of the commanding officers on the force. The police had seen the bodies of Thomas and Martha Wayne and had been horrified at what they'd seen. The murder of the two billionaires was enough to declare the capture of their killer a number one case. The Gotham City Police Department would stop at nothing to make sure that whoever had done this to the two famed adults would pay for his crime.

Bruce wasn't alone in the GCPD. His butler, Alfred Pennyworth, had come into the building to give him some comfort. It was always recommended to have an adult beside a grief-stricken child to help them get through it all. Alfred was an Englishman, a former MI6 agent who had long since retired and now worked as a butler for the Wayne family. He dressed in a black suit and grey trousers with a faux red flower in his breast pocket. He had a moustache and a small patch of hair behind his head. His cranium was bald. Alfred had the sort of face that could comfort any child during his worst moments, kind and sympathetic. Alfred sat beside the boy who had now become an orphan and put an arm around him.

"I cannot tell you how much the deaths of your parents disturb me Master Bruce." the butler spoke, more to fill the silence than anything, "Such senseless violence and such needless bloodshed. It begs the question on why anybody would ever go so far as to commit such atrocities."

Bruce didn't respond. He hadn't spoken a word since the murder had happened. Alfred nodded understandingly.

"I can only imagine how bad this is for you Master Bruce." he said solemnly, "You needn't worry though, I will take good care of you. Your father would've wanted this."

"…why Alfred?" Bruce suddenly snivelled, "Why did he do it?"

Alfred took a moment to ponder on the question. Why did the man do it? The criminal mind was among the most complex in the world, something he knew all too well due to his days as an MI6 agent. He shook his head sadly.

"That is something I don't believe I can answer…" he replied, "Criminals often act in mysterious ways. I doubt we'll ever know why he did it."

"I want them back…" Bruce mumbled sadly.

Alfred looked down at the young boy, feeling nothing but sorrow for him. What a terrible thing to happen to a boy, and so young too. He would never get over this tragedy, never in a million years. The happy-go-lucky billionaire son was gone forever. What would be become when he got older? Would he ever be psychologically healthy again? The questions were daunting and Alfred dreaded finding out the answers.

Then suddenly, a door opened up and a thirty-something old man walked out to greet Bruce and Alfred. He was one of the commanding officers but despite his occupation, he looked very friendly and gentle. He had a bushy moustache and he wore thick glasses with blue lenses. He wore a police uniform, though it didn't really suit him at all.

"Hello Bruce." he said kindly, "Please, come into my office. I would like to ask you a few questions."

"May I sit and wait out here for him sir?" Alfred asked.

"Of course." the policeman said, "You can wait there Alfred. Bruce, please come with me."

"Yes officer." Bruce said grimly.

"Please, call me Jim." he replied, "Jim Gordon."

"Yes Jim." the child responded.

He got up from his chair and followed Jim Gordon back into his office. No doubt he would be questioned about the murder and asked to provide a witness statement to hopefully give the police any clues about the killer.

But as the young boy entered Gordon's office, he had no idea how much his life was about to change. Jim Gordon himself had no idea how much this boy's life was going to change. And little did he know was that boy would change many lives in Gotham, including his own. And in the end it all boiled down to one simple fact…it had all started with tonight's tragic murder and the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne…

* * *

 _ **And so it begins. The legendary saga of The Dark Knight himself has started. And it'll only continue to grow as the Batman rises up from the tragedy that has befallen Bruce Wayne...**_

 _ **Tune in next time was**_ **Batman: I Am The Night** _ **truly begins with its first episode...**_


	2. Episode 1: The Big Three

_Episode 1: The Big Three_

 _Gotham City, Park Row: Several Years Later…_

The loud sirens of the police cars broke the silence of the night. Their light bars chased away the darkness as they sped down the roads at top speed. It was just another night for the GCPD, another night for the police to chase down criminals and put a stop to their heinous acts.

Jim Gordon was leading the squadron that had been dispatched to take care of something that had happened. The Police Commissioner, Gillian B. Loeb, had received a tip-off that some group was gathering together inside the local church to conduct business of some kind. Drugs possibly. Whatever it was, Gordon was determined to find the answers. He had a feeling that this group was working for one of the top three most corrupt men in Gotham City. The list included Carmine Falcone, Roman Sionis and Rupert Thorne. All three were extremely wealthy men and because of their wealth, they were considered untouchable by the law, not helped by the fact they often put up a convincing façade that fooled the public into thinking they were legitimate business men. But not this time. Whatever Gordon was going to find in that church, he would be able to prove that none of those men were as innocent as the public believed.

The chief officer turned a corner and sped down another road that led straight up to the church. The church was old and very tall with a very foreboding appearance. It didn't look quite right standing in the middle of Park Row like this. Its medieval appearance made it look more as if it belonged in a Grimm's Fairy-tale book rather than a big metropolis like Gotham. It had been constructed years ago with the financial backings of Bruce Wayne's great grandfather, Judge Solomon Wayne, a 19th century judge who had also founded the Solomon Wayne courthouse nearby. Was the criminal gathering a slight against Bruce or the Wayne Family as a whole? Gordon had no idea but he had a feeling he was about to find out. He stopped his car and stepped outside, the chill of the night breeze brushing against his face. His men, all of them loyal to him and also believing that the top three were corrupt and needed to be stopped, filed out behind him and the entire squad approached the church slowly and steadily, keeping their guns ready.

They approached the door, making sure they made little to no sound so as not to startle anybody inside. It was critical that they had the element of surprise on their side. Gordon loaded up his pistol and pressed the side of his head against the door. He could hear faint voices inside the religious building. His tip-off had been correct, there was indeed some kind of meeting going on in there.

"OK boys, on three, we break in." the chief whispered.

"Right behind ya Jimmy." another officer, this one younger and fitter, replied.

Jim nodded as he held up his hand with his thumb and pinkie curled inwards and his other three fingers standing up. His squadron held their breaths.

"Three…"

Several guns were cocked in response.

"Two…"

The men tensed themselves, their legs like springs ready to launch them into action once the command was given.

"ONE!"

Gordon kicked open the doors of the church and he and his squadron stormed inside. They all pointed their guns ahead, forming a protective wall that nobody could possibly get by. There was a group of people all dressed in dirty clothes in the church, sitting at a table that had been dragged in there and used to set up their operations. Boxes upon boxes of illegal drug powders, marijuana and cocaine littered the table. Some of the criminals even had the powder all over their shirts. They all looked genuinely surprised to see the police here. This drug dealing was meant to be classified! The first criminal, a man in a black vest-top stained with white powder, held up his hands.

"Freeze! Don't move! This is the GCPD! You're all under arrest!" Gordon barked.

"Under arrest copper? What for?" the criminal asked innocently.

"Drug dealings." the chief officer snorted, glaring at the table loaded with the illegal contents, "We had an anonymous tip that you were all here tonight. Come quietly and maybe we'll shorten your sentences."

To Jim's surprise, the lead man didn't start protesting or claiming anything silly like "This is a misunderstanding!" or "This is not what you think!" or anything along those lines. Instead, he began to laugh! The rest of his squadron began to feel suspicious. Why was the man laughing? What was going on?

"Anonymous tip eh?" the criminal sneered, "What a co-inky-dink! We ourselves got one of those too! We were told beforehand that we should expect cops banging on our doors anytime soon! So we prepared for your arrival!"

To show what he meant, he snapped both fingers and out of nowhere, a couple of men emerged from the shadowy corners of the church and aimed what appeared to be machine guns slung around their shoulders at the squadron. The machine guns would be more than a match for all the cops, able to spray out several bullets in seconds. Gordon had many men with him but they wouldn't be enough. Once the two men opened fire, the machine guns would cut them to pieces. The two men primed their weapons, ready to open-fire. Jim Gordon sighed in annoyance. Yet again, the criminals were one step ahead of him! How was it that every time he got a tip, they got one too?! He refused to lower his gun, not wanting to show any signs of weakness to this criminal scum.

"You made a big mistake young man…" he growled, "I could easily shoot you before your two boys open fire!"

"Oh sure, shoot me down! And then what?" the leader crooned, "What good is killing me gonna do? You won't get the rest of us before our boys finish you off. You may as well just surrender right now. If you do then our boss might let you live."

"Your boss, whoever he is, is going in a prison cell just like the rest of you!" Gordon declared, sweat trickling down his forehead, "Speaking of which, who is your boss? Either of The Big Three?!"

"Why bother telling you? You're not gonna live long enough to remember anyway." the man scoffed, "Machine Guns, waste those cops!"

The two men with the machine guns nodded and aimed, ready to open fire and start spraying the helpless cops with a rapid round from their powerful weapons. Two of Jim's men aimed at the assailants. With any luck, they could fire first and stop the two before they could kill anybody. But before the first bullet could be fired, a small, spherical object dropped down from the ceiling and clattered on the floor before a few tiny legs protruded out from it and held it in place. Everybody stopped and stared for a moment, puzzled. What was it? Jim had a nasty feeling he knew what it was.

"BOMB!" he cried, "All units, fall back!"

He and his squadron dived backwards out of the church, leaving the confused criminals to stare at the sphere. The lead criminal snorted with laughter. Those cops must be mad! This tiny black ball couldn't possibly be a bomb! He strolled over and picked it up, laughing mockingly.

"Seriously coppers, you think THIS tiny thing is a bomb?! You're all jumpier than a frightened rabbit!"

And that was when the sphere exploded. It was not a bomb but in fact, a stun grenade. The ball exploded, throwing a huge blinding light around the room. Night had quickly become day and the criminals were all blinded by the dazzling light. The cops had heard the explosion but didn't dare to move until it was safe. The lead criminal got the worst of it, clutching his eyes in agony and rubbing them to try and ease the pain. He couldn't see. What on Earth had just happened?! The whole thing was a set-up and he was at the centre of it!

It took him a few moments to get his vision back. The light had died down and the darkness had returned to the church. Shaking his head, he looked around. To his astonishment, every single man that he had been working with, including the two machine guns, were lying on the ground, completely out cold! His heart began to pound. What was going on? Who was doing this. He looked around nervously, wondering who to expect. And that was when he saw it. Silhouetted against the light creeping in through the church doors was the shadowy figure of what looked like a man but the man was wearing a cape and had pointy ears. He looked like a giant bat in the darkness. The only thing visible were two white slits, presumably his eyes, peering at the lead criminal. He froze in terror, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"What the hell are you?!" he cried.

"Not what…WHO." the man corrected, lunging out of the shadows towards him.

The policemen heard the man's screams ring out from inside the church. That was odd. How could the man be screaming when a bomb went off? Gordon looked up and noticed that the church was still intact. It hadn't been a bomb, something else entirely! That was lucky. But why was the lead criminal screaming? The screams then very quickly died down. Had the man just been killed? Gordon dreaded to find out but his nerves screamed at him to go in and investigate. He pulled out his gun again.

"Alright men, let's get in there!" he commanded.

With that said, Jim ran inside the church, his gun pointed straight ahead and searching for any signs of danger. To his amazement, he didn't get any resistance. Instead, he saw the entire crime gathering knocked out and sprawling on the floor! He noticed their chests moving up and down. They were still alive, including the main criminal. Gordon knelt down beside him and took note of the huge bruise that the man now sported on his face. Once again, the criminals had been incapacitated. And he knew just who had done it. His face narrowed into a frown.

"Who did this Jimmy?" asked one of the officers as he picked up one of the machine guns.

"HE did it again Don. Yet again…" Jim muttered.

"Who? Who did it again?"

"The Batman…"

It was all Jim Gordon needed to say...

* * *

"So let me get this straight Jim. You and your men barged into that church only to realize you'd been set up, and then this "Batman" took out all the criminals with some kind of gadget that incapacitated them?"

"Absolutely Commissioner, that's exactly how it happened."

"How did you know it was the Batman again?"

"Only he beats up criminals like that Loeb. Plus like the last few times he's saved our necks from set ups, he uses a gadget to incapacitate this criminals. Unlike last time though, I didn't see him. He was gone by the time we walked back into the church."

Half an hour had passed since the incident at the Park Row Church. After the so-called "Batman" had finished with the crooks and left them for Jim and his team to deal with, the squadron had arrested everybody involved in this drug dealing operation and had returned back to the GCPD Headquarters and put them all in a cell so they could question them later. Now Gordon was in an office and evaluating what had happened to the Police Commissioner, re-telling the events of tonight as if they were a story in a book he had read several times and memorized by heart. Commissioner Loeb was one of the most unpleasant looking men on the entire police force. He was ugly, overweight and his face was beginning to wither with age. He was getting old, looking as if he was approaching retirement age. Loeb had taken in Gordon's story with disinterest written all over his face. As far as he was concerned, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, not even this supposed "Batman" person who kept helping his men out. He had often said that "When you spend years on the force, you can't afford to be surprised by anything.", a philosophy he seemed to run by.

After Gordon had finished talking, Loeb nodded slowly.

"So the goddamn Batman does it again..." Loeb snarled, his face curling into a hideous scowl, "He waltzes in on a crime scene, kicks the criminal's asses and makes you and your men look stupid again! For god's sake Jim, you're the Chief Officer of the force and yet you keep letting this damn vigilante do the dirty work for you!"

"I did not "let him do the dirty work for me" Loeb!" Gordon snapped, "I had no idea he was there, not even the criminals in that meeting knew! It's like he comes out of nowhere and...does his thing. And then he leaves us to clear up the mess he leaves behind."

"In case this city hasn't realized though, we're the Gotham City Police Department, not garbage collectors!" Loeb snapped, "The Batman is as big a criminal as the scum we put away. Operating outside the law as if he has every right to do our jobs for us! If we allow him to continue his little vigilante streak, we'll become redundant! What need would Gotham have for the police force if the Batman does everything for us?"

He turned around and strode towards his desk, his face as red as a tomato that had just ripened. Gordon didn't bother to comment, knowing that Loeb was ill-tempered and that even the slightest comment could provoke him. He had been at the wrath of Loeb's temper far too often and decided to try and not give him another reason to explode.

"I understand your concerns commissioner but let's look at the positives for a minute." Gordon suggested, "I mean it's better that this mystery man is on our side rather than with the criminals isn't it?"

"We don't know that Jim..." Loeb said gravely, "For all we know, he could just be eliminating the competition. How do we know he's not just one of them?"

He rapped his fingers across his desk, playing some kind of tune that Gordon knew from when he was a younger man and in a lesser position on the force.

"So you think the Batman might be some new criminal trying to one-up everybody? Even The Big Three?"

"You never know. When you get the job that I have Gordon, you can't leave anything to chance...not one blasted thing."

Loeb's eyes were dark and serious, devoid of any humour. They almost looked lifeless.

"Batman maybe some new saint Gotham's got or a new crime boss, either way, I'm making it our number one priority that we hunt down this maniac, arrest him and rip the mask off his face so we can find out who he really is!" Loeb declared, "If he's some kind of man-bat-monster creature then we'll send him back to the laboratory he came from!"

"You want us to pursue the Batman?" Gordon gasped, "But sir, what about The Big Three? My men can't stave off any investigations against them just to hunt down Batman..."

"The Big Three are not a problem." the police commissioner scoffed, "They're not even criminals damn it! The only reason you refer to them as such as because you're chasing down ridiculous rumours that Thorne, Sionis and Falcone are somehow related to recent crimes that have been happening in this city. Forget the rumours Jim, you're wasting our time and resources over nothing."

"But Commissioner, you said so yourself, "we can't leave anything to chance, not one blasted thing"." the chief noted, "We can't leave anything to chance that those three men are as innocent as they may claim..."

"I. said. forget. the. rumours." Loeb spat venomously, "We can't just investigate those men based on gut instincts! We could cause some kind of scandal amongst the public and in case you've forgotten Gordon, Gotham City needs that single ray of hope to keep it from tearing itself apart. If word gets out that we're accusing these men, the people won't be able to trust anybody and all hope will diminish!"

He then sighed loudly and swaggered over towards Gordon. The chief officer began to feel nervous. Here it comes, yet another case of Loeb getting in his face and making a point. But then suddenly, Loeb's face changed. He looked more relaxed, almost gentle as he put his hands on Gordon's shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"Please Gordon, do the right thing. Let it be and focus on the bigger picture. The Batman is the true criminal we have to put away." Loeb said, his voice a lot softer, almost kind in tone, "We have to give the people hope, hope that this metropolis will no longer be ruled by fear. Do you understand that?"

Gordon nodded. He wasn't really sure if Loeb meant what he had said but he decided it would be unwise to pursue further. It would be best to grit his teeth and go with it.

"Yes Loeb." Gordon murmured.

"Good." the commissioner replied, slapping him on the back, "Sooner or later, you'll be fit to replace me when my time is up. You'll make a fine commissioner yet Gordon."

The chief nodded. He looked forward to the day he replaced Loeb as police commissioner. He would not only do a better job than the old fool was doing, but he would make the GCPD a police force that everybody would be happy to call for help. But for now, he would have to put up with following orders from this senile old man. With any luck, Loeb would finish his career on a high note but that seemed very, very unlikely.

"One more thing though Loeb." Jim suddenly put in, "With the criminals we arrested tonight, we could start interviewing them, see who they were working for and bring down the man they were working for."

"Batman maybe our number one priority Jim, but that doesn't mean those vermin are off the hook." Loeb agreed, "We'll find out who they're working for and bring down this drug operation once and for all. If they're working for the Batman then we've just gotten ourselves more of a reason to lock him away!"

"I doubt Batman would beat up his own associates if that was the case..." Gordon mused.

"He may have done so to try and fool us into thinking he's not their boss." Loeb suggested, "Anyway, inform our men that we have a number one priority and we're to hunt down the Batman at the next available opportunity."

"Yes commissioner." Jim replied.

"Good. You're dismissed." Loeb concluded, sitting back down at his desk to look at some paperwork that had come in.

Jim turned on his heels and left the office, quick to get out of there at last. He was always happy to get as far away from the buffoon as possible. As he left, he began to sigh to himself.

"Now we're chasing down a man in a bat costume..." he muttered, "This force is just getting worse and worse the longer this goes on..."

* * *

Many miles away from the GCPD but still in Gotham itself, there was another conversation going on. This one was not between two policemen though, but between two men, one dressed up and the other in a butler's uniform. The conversation wasn't even taking place in a building, but in a cave. The cave itself was underneath the famed home of the Wayne Family, Wayne Manor.

The cave was home to hordes and hordes of bats who hung upside down from the rocky ceilings before flapping out into the night to enjoy the darkness. It had been home only to the ants and left undisturbed for many centuries. That had all changed when the Batman had come to Gotham. The cave had been converted into an underground base for the vigilante superhero. Anybody walking down into this underground lair, collectively known as "The Batcave", would get the sight of their lives as they took in the huge platforms suspended by chains and hanging over the deep chasms of the cave, the hi-tech computers that were unrivaled in their technological potency, the huge sleek black car that remained parked until it was needed for anything, the miniature laboratory beside the computers and the training arena that was equipped with intelligent training androids for combat practice. It was quite possibly the most amazing sight anybody could behold but for Batman himself, it was just another home to him, and one he was always happy to return to.

Batman had returned to the Batcave after dealing with the criminal gathering in the church and was now evaluating how it had gone with Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred had been tending to the manor above while he had been away and was relieved to see Batman again, looking unhurt once again.

Batman himself was a sight to behold as much as the cave he occupied. He was dressed in a black outfit with areas of grey on the arms, thighs, boots and even the neck area. He wore a cowl with two pointy ears that covered his whole face save for his mouth and chin, a huge cape that made him look as if he had bat wings whenever he spread it out and wore a yellow utility belt around his waist. He had a shield shape on his chest with a bat-logo in the centre. The bat-logo was repeated on the neck section. The cape was clipped on to the shoulder sections so that if it snagged or if somebody grabbed it, it could easily be removed to prevent choking him.

Batman also wore chunky arm gauntlets that had three spikes pointing behind them and chunky boots that looked well equipped for running and fighting. He looked very, very menacing and imposing but Alfred wasn't afraid of him at all. He knew who the Batman really was.

"Another grand night out Master Bruce?" he asked casually as Batman strode up towards the computers.

"You could say that." Batman replied stoically.

He pulled back his cowl, revealing the rest of his handsome face so Alfred could see the man that lay underneath again. Bruce Wayne had changed drastically since the tragic deaths of his parents, becoming hard, stoic and deathly serious. If he ever showed any signs of humour, it was always in that flat, deadpan tone of voice he had adopted to suit the Batman persona. Whenever Alfred saw his master in that costume, he always allowed himself to wonder on what would've become of Bruce Wayne if he hadn't been a victim of such a traumatic incident all those years ago. What would Thomas and Martha have thought about the Batman persona if they were alive and could see it now?

"How did it go Master Bruce? No doubt you caught the criminals again." the butler inquired.

"The drug gang had no idea what was going on when I struck." Bruce evaluated, "I just dropped a stun-grenade and that was it, they were all down on the floor."

"I suppose you convinced them to take a nap for the rest of the night?"

"Pretty much."

"Then you left Gordon to pick up the pieces?"

"Just like last time."

Bruce sat down at the computer and began tapping away on the keyboard. The screen flickered as a few criminal profiles displayed themselves on the monitor. Alfred stood beside his master and looked up at the screen to see the profiles.

"So who did you manage to knock down this time Master Wayne?" Alfred asked.

"Another gang of thugs dealing drugs with one another, their leader being this man you see now." Bruce explained as a picture of the lead criminal he'd knocked out before leaving the church appeared on the screen, "His name is Hans Teller. He's an expert drug smuggler. You want drugs, he can get them to you in anyway possible. Nobody knows how he does it, he just...can. That's why they call him "The Fetcher" in the criminal underworld. He can "fetch" what you want him to."

"Well I doubt he'll be fetching anything now he's been arrested." Alfred remarked, "Any reason you went after him and his gang in particular?"

"Something I picked up while I was masquerading undercover last week." the vigilante explained, "It's said that Hans is possibly working for one of The Big Three."

"Which one?"

"Falcone."

"Ah yes...there's a lot of rumours linking that man to drug dealings." Alfred nodded, "With any luck, the police will get the truth out of him when he comes to."

"I had hoped to make him crack myself but then Jim and his men arrived on the scene and complicated matters." Bruce murmured, "I guess somebody squealed on them to him and he came on the scene. Unfortunately, they had also got a tip-off and knew the cops were coming so I had to save them and take out the criminals myself. Couldn't stick around for long since Jim and his team would start interrogating me so I had to leave. Hopefully the GCPD can get the information I had hoped to get myself."

"Somebody tipped-off Teller's gang that the police were coming?" Pennyworth gasped, "My word, that's the sixth time this month that's happened! It's like every time somebody informs the police, somebody informs the criminals too!"

"I know, and I don't like it..." Bruce muttered, his face narrowing into a scowl, "I don't believe in coincidence. In fact, six times is too much for it to be mere coincidence anymore. I smell a conspiracy and I'm gonna find out what it is."

He then pressed some more buttons and up on the screen, three criminal profiles appeared simultaneously. The profiles all showed pictures of three different men, all of them very distinct from one another. One of the men looked rather elderly with white hair, a black mustache that looked more like he had two black marks drawn on either side of his upper lip, hard serious grey eyes and a tough composure. The second man also had white hair but his face was much rounder, suggesting a more portly figure that matched the flabby face and he too looked middle-aged to elderly with a few lines suggesting his age and small but dangerous hazel eyes. The third and final man was the most puzzling of all for his face looked like a black skull with grey teeth. That was because he was wearing a mask that covered his face save for his serious brown eyes. Each picture had a name under them identifying who each one was. The first man was labelled "Falcone", the second was "Thorne" and the third was "Sionis" but with an added "AKA: The Black Mask" underneath the Sionis part. Those were The Big Three, rumoured to be the three biggest criminals in Gotham City. Nobody had been able to pin any crimes on them, hence why their statuses as such were rumours at best. Bruce believed the rumours and aside from Jim, had been the only one taking in interest in these three very rich and powerful men.

"The Big Three no doubt have something to do with this." Wayne muttered, "One of them must have an inside agent telling people of when the cops are arriving to arrest their men."

"Given how rich and powerful all of them are, I wouldn't be surprised if they had the resources to do such a thing." Alfred murmured, "One runs a shipping company, the second's a politician and the third's an industrial businessman. Big positions to bring in the big bucks as one might say."

"And that's what makes them so dangerous." Bruce mused, "Once a man has enough money, he can control anything. And I have a feeling that these three control far too much in Gotham. What they control I intend to find out. If I find their resources, I'll find a way to bring them down."

"And do you intend to take them down one at a time or all at once?" the butler asked curiously.

"Hopefully all at once." Wayne replied, "I took a stab at Falcone tonight. Tomorrow, I gun for Thorne and then the night after, Sionis."

"Good luck with that then." Alfred said, "In the meantime, make sure you're refreshed and ready for tomorrow afternoon Master Wayne. Need I remind you, you have an important meeting with Mr. Boyle at that time?"

"I haven't forgotten." Bruce replied, "I'll make sure I'm there at WayneTech when he comes to see me."

"Very good sir." Pennyworth said approvingly, "You know...I do have to wonder how you manage to balance your two lives so well. You've been at this thing for a month, soon to be two months, and you're managing to successfully manage at being both Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises and Batman."

"I've trained for it Alfred, that's all I can say about it." Wayne answered nonchalantly.

With nothing more to say, he got up out of his chair so he could change out of the Batsuit and retire for the night. There was nothing to stay up for and Gotham was in for another good night's sleep. Tomorrow night, he would be suited up once more and out in the city to tackle more crime. And with any luck, he would get closer to taking down any of The Big Three...

* * *

Meanwhile, Hans Teller had come to and had found himself in a prison cell in the GCPD Headquarters. At first, he had no idea how he had ended up in here. It was as if he had fallen asleep and magically been transported from one area to the next. But as his senses adjusted, he remembered exactly what had happened. Some bat/man/thing had attacked him and knocked him out. While he had been out, those insolent cops must've arrested him and his gang before they could come to! And to think tonight was supposed to go swimmingly without a hitch! How could a simple drug dealing go so horribly wrong and end like this for he and his men?!

Hans began to feel nervous. What would his boss do if he found out he'd failed and gotten arrested? Would he leave him to rot in here? Would he break him out, punish him for failure and make him do another job to make up for it? Or worse…the drug dealer shuddered. He didn't even want to think about it. He supposed the best he could do was hope that he would be forgotten about by his boss so he would live. But even then, he couldn't keep himself from banging about in his cell and violently cursing the man that had done this to him.

"I swear when I get outta this joint, I'm gonna hunt down that Bat-thing and cut him to pieces!" he bellowed, "Then I'm gonna mail his head to The Roman when I'm done! Yes, that'll make him happy, oh yes…"

Teller begin to grin maniacally, froth speckling the corners of his lips. He looked almost mad. But then his mood quickly changed and he sat back down on the bed his tiny cell contained. He massaged his temples to ease his anger.

"Speaking of The Roman, I hope he don't get too mad over what's happened…" Hans muttered, "I was meant to be winning over potential criminals with them drugs and getting them to work for him! The more men we have, the more chance we have of taking out Sionis and Thorne and leave Falcone unchallenged! And instead, I get my ass kicked and end up in here! I can't imagine he'll be too happy about that…"

He was almost tempted to get up and start banging his head against the wall just to let off some steam or better still, break his own skull so he could die and be safe from The Roman's wrath. But a part of him rejected that idea. Suicide wouldn't do any good. How could he redeem himself in his employer's eyes if he was dead? Given The Roman's power and wealth, he could probably just bail him out and then Teller would redeem himself. That sounded much nicer.

Then Hans heard the sound of a door opening and footsteps pounding on the concrete floor. Great, now some wimpy cop was going to start lecturing him and trying to get him to speak! What a night this was turning out to be! Was it even night anymore? Hans had no idea, he had been out for so long he had no idea what time it was and it was dark in the cell blockade. He had no chance of telling the time in here. The footsteps approached his cell and Hans saw who it was. None other than the police commissioner himself, Gillian Loeb. Of all the cops to come and bother him, the absolute worst had come. Loeb narrowed his eyes at Teller as he unlocked the cell door and stepped inside. Then the commissioner locked the cell door behind him, making sure nor he or Teller could get out.

This puzzled Hans. Did cops usually do this? If so then they must be mad! Loeb was giving him a potential escape route! Hans could easily attack the commissioner, overpower him, steal his keys and then flee the cell! But then the drug dealer noticed something else. Loeb had a large kitchen knife in his gloved hands. Did cops usually carry knives? He stared at the commissioner, feeling more nervous by the second.

"Morning." Loeb muttered, "I suppose you slept well Mr. Teller?"

"Can't say I was given much choice in the matter." sighed Hans, "Some bat like creep knocked me out and I woke up in here! Now I guess you're here to gloat on how you've got me and all that crap. You cops are always quick to assert your authority over people!"

"I'm not here for anything of the sort." the commissioner snapped, "I'm here to finish a job. You see, The Roman doesn't tolerate failure Hans. You failed last night and now you must pay for it."

Hans was so gobsmacked that he couldn't speak. The Roman?! THE ROMAN?! Commissioner Loeb knew about The Roman and seemed to be working for him?! He had never been told that his boss had the police commissioner in his pocket! That was when he realized something. The tip-off! He had been tipped-off that the cops were coming last night! _Loeb_ had been his tip-off the whole time! Now it all made sense!

But now Loeb wasn't here to tip him off anymore. He instead lunged at him with the knife, burying the thick, sharp blade deep into his stomach. Teller cried out but his cry sounded more like a hoarse gasp as the air in his throat refused to come out. The blade had punctured his stomach and blood was pouring out from the wound like a red waterfall. He was most certainly dead, even though he was still conscious and aware of what had happened. Once Loeb had stabbed him, he grabbed hold of Hans's right hand and closed it around the handle. The commissioner's gloves would hide the fact that he had been holding the knife but Hans had no gloves on. Therefore, DNA and fingerprint tests would confirm that Hans had been holding the knife, not Loeb. It would appear as if the drug dealer had killed himself. That was what The Roman had ordered and the task had now been done.

Loeb stepped away from Hans so that he could avoid getting any of his blood on him. If he was to get away with murder, he couldn't get any of Hans's DNA on himself. He quickly unlocked the cell and walked outside, leaving the dying man to collapse on the floor. A hideous red puddle began to form underneath him. He was gasping for breath but he could barely move. He could only watch as the evil commissioner smirked at him and then quietly walked away…

* * *

The news of Teller's death had quickly gotten out. It was one of the biggest headlines that had hit the news this very day. By the early afternoon, all the newspapers were printing it. The headlines read something like this:

 **Drug Dealer Commits Suicide In Cell**

 **Police Commissioner Loeb questioned about how Hans Teller, AKA The Fetcher, was able to conceal a knife from the police until it was too late.**

It was also being reported on the biggest news shows in Gotham with big names such as Jack Ryder and Vicki Vale being the first to comment. The news had obviously reached Bruce Wayne, who was sitting in his private limousine as Alfred drove him off to WayneTech Headquarters for his meeting with Ferris Boyle. The limousine wasn't as long as most limos were but was still equally as luxurious. The limo even had a built in TV which was a screen that folded down from the roof of the car so the person in the back could watch. Bruce always tuned into the news on his way to work so he could formulate any cases he had to tackle as Batman when night fell once more. He did not like what he had heard.

"…and in other news today, the drug dealer Hans Teller, known to the criminal underworld as "The Fetcher", was found dead in his cell earlier this morning. He had clearly killed himself with a knife that he had somehow managed to hide from the cops and then used to put an end to his life. Rumour has it that he had been working for some big crime boss, possibly one of the rumoured Big Three, and police speculate he may have purposefully done himself in so nobody could get him to talk…"

Alfred glanced in the rear view mirror and noticed his master's angry expression. He knew instantly it was not good news.

"I don't suppose the Gotham News has told you anything pleasant Master Bruce?" the butler asked.

"No…" Bruce muttered, "Hans Teller is dead. The news claims he killed himself. Fatally stabbed himself apparently."

"And you don't believe it?"

"Not in the slightest. When I attacked him last night, he had no weapons on him. The cowl couldn't detect any."

"So how did he manage to stab himself if he had no weapons?"

"Somebody gave it him, either so he could do the deed…or it was a murder."

Alfred nodded. His days as an MI6 agent had led to him getting many, many cases like this: suicides that turn out to be murder. It made perfect sense for this case.

"You speculated that The Fetcher was working for Falcone." Alfred said, "I suppose you think he arranged that little "suicide" for the poor fellow."

"It's the only way this makes any sense." Wayne muttered, "Falcone, Thorne or Sionis can barely afford to have their clients telling on them. Unfortunately for us, we're back to square one. Falcone or whoever Hans was working for is once again in the clear."

"Maybe Jim Gordon or anyone else on the force could investigate the death." Pennyworth noted, "They could handle that while you go after Thorne tonight."

"Maybe so." Bruce agreed, "But if they can't find anything, I'll pitch in and investigate that death. The Big Three can't hide their tracks forever."

"Certainly not. A criminal only goes so far until he makes his final mistake and puts an end to it all." Alfred concurred.

The limousine turned a corner and headed down a straight road that led to the enormous building that was WayneTech Headquarters. There was no need to continue the conversation now Bruce was nearly there. So for the last few seconds of the journey, he sat in silence as his analytical brain was put to work. The Big Three weren't going to get away with their crimes any longer. He was going to put a stop to them even if he took all year to do so!

As he thought about this case, several facts were beginning to bother him and wouldn't stop playing in his mind. Hans having a weapon even though he had been unarmed last night, the faked suicide but most importantly of all…the fact the criminals had been tipped-off that Gordon and his men were arriving. He knew that it all connected in some way but he wasn't sure what it was. There had to be a connection, there just had to be! But he would have to put his mind at ease. Batman could come out and play again tonight while he, Bruce Wayne, continued to put up the performance he usually did when in public. It was why nobody would ever suspect he and Batman were the same.

The limousine pulled up outside WayneTech HQ and all thoughts about The Big Three, Hans's death and the tip-off from last night were forgotten about as Bruce exited his vehicle and headed inside to get to work…

* * *

Bruce Wayne wasn't the only one who had been watching the news.

One of The Big Three had been watching the same report that Wayne had just viewed before arriving at WayneTech. He hadn't been watching it from the interior of a limousine though, he had been watching it from the comfort of his own home. His home was a large, three storey house that somehow managed to separate itself from all the nearby buildings. This had been done by surrounding itself with a large garden that looked so beautifully mown that the grass looked more like a giant green square painted on the ground when viewed from a distance. The house itself was very elegant and looked almost too old to fit in with the rest of the city around it. It's most notorious feature was a giant "S" that had been sculpted out of stone in the centre of the house just above the middle window on the third storey. This was the home of Ronan Sionis.

He had inherited the home after the one he grew up in had burned down, taking his wealthy parents with him. Rumour had it that Sionis himself had arranged that bit of arson and murder but even as of this day, it has not been proven. The house, known as "Sionis Manor" was one of many that the Sionis family had owned and Ronan had chosen this one to be his base of operations. He liked the large rooms, the animal skin rugs, the dark lighting, the unpleasant looking paintings that depicted horrific imagery and apocalyptic views. But most of all, he liked the collection of masks that hung on the wall of his private study. Ronan had a fascination for masks and was even wearing one right now.

However…"wearing" it wasn't quite the right way to describe it. More like "permanently wearing it". After an incident involving a fire a few months ago, Ronan's black skull mask which he had made out of the coffin that contained his father had ended up burned to his face. He could never remove it. It was as if he had given himself a new face, one he could never alter again. He didn't care. This new look made him a terrifying face to show up in the criminal underworld. Once people saw him, they quickly swore allegiance to him. Thus he had been given the nickname "Black Mask" by his subordinates.

Black Mask was wearing an expensive white suit and tie with polished black shoes and a gold chain hanging from one of his pockets. He wore black gloves to match his black mask. This look combined with his horrifying mask gave him a distinctive appearance. He looked like a skeleton in a business suit, something that suited him just fine.

Black Mask was in his private study, lounging on a sofa with a pretty woman with blonde hair beside him as he watched the news. The woman was named Tiffany Ambrose and was one of his many girlfriends. She and her criminal lover watched as the news spoke of Hans Teller's death. They said it was a suicide though like Bruce, Black Mask suspected that it was not really a suicide. He knew Teller and knew perfectly well he worked for one of his criminal rivals, Carmine "The Roman" Falcone. Seeing Teller dead made him smile with glee. His mask made it impossible to tell if he was smiling but Tiffany could tell just by looking at his eyes.

"Well Ronan, how's that for a lucky break?" she purred, her voice high-pitched and doting, accompanied by a Brooklyn accent, "Falcone's lost his best smuggler! That guy won't be fetching him anything anymore!"

"Just a damn shame it wasn't me who offed the bastard…" Black Mask replied, "But I'm game for anybody working for that old geezer gettin' the axe! It just means that Falcone goes down and I go up…"

He had a guttural growling voice accompanied by a thick New York accent. The voice combined with his accent made every word he said sound threatening and dangerous.

"Yeah, and ta think that weirdo "Batman" is the one who foiled dat operation of his last night!" sneered Tiffany, "That joik is getting' everything he deserves fer darin' ta stand up ta you Si!"

"I couldn't agree more babe." the crime boss crowed, "Falcone's had his time as Gotham's ruler. Now it's time for new blood to stand up and take control. Times are changin' Tiff, and they're changin' for us."

He ran his thumb up and down the woman's shoulder.

"I can't take any chances with that Batman freak though." he declared, his tone matter-of-fact, "He maybe nosin' around our enemy's business but what if he comes after me? He could easily cause as much trouble for me as he is for Falcone and Thorne!"

"So why don't we just kill him?" Tiffany asked sweetly.

"Can't do that yet doll." the masked man noted, "We can use him first. He could take down Falcone and Thorne for us if we play our cards right."

He turned to face his girlfriend, putting a finger under her chin and earning a big, silly grin from her in return.

"Batman could potentially eliminate the competition for us." Black Mask crowed, "And then when Falcone and Thorne crumble…heh, heh, heh…I can rise to the top and make this entire city grovel at my feet! Gotham will tremble with terror once they hear the name of Black Mask…"

He laughed a horrible, wicked laugh as he pictured the pathetic citizens cowering in fear as his men roamed the streets, pillaging and taking what they could and beating anybody who stood in his way. It was a utopia in his eyes and one he looked forward to bringing to life.

"So Si, ya think we could maybe…"help" Batman in getting rid of those wannabe crime bosses?" Ambrose asked innocently.

"Tiff, I think ya just gave me the jackpot idea…" Black Mask purred approvingly, "I had a tip-off that Thorne's got some kind of smuggling operation going on tonight. More business with the damn snakeheads no doubt. Maybe we could get Batman ta stick his nose into Thorne's business. We won't get our hands dirty and it'll distract that old fool from us!"

"And I know just how we can do dat Ronan." Tiffany piped excitedly, "Like Falcone, you have cops workin' fer ya. Get one of them ta spread the woid and surely Batman will pick up on it."

"Ha, ha, ha! Tiff, you just keep bringin' on the good ideas!" cackled Black Mask, "I'll make a call ta Officer Balent this instant. He'll spread the word and the Batman will no doubt hear about it and then do the rest."

He got up from his sofa and strode over to the phone on his desk. Once the call was made, Throne's little meeting tonight would blow up in his face and Batman would be unwillingly contributing to his rise to power…

* * *

 _ **Well this was an eventful episode! The Big Three! The Batman's hunting them down! And Black Mask is making a bid for power! What will happen next?**_

 _ **Tune in next time as Batman finds himself tangling with the bite of "Copperhead"...**_


	3. Episode 2: Copperhead

_Episode 2: Copperhead_

As Gotham City braced itself for yet another night of inevitable crime, a strange black car sped down the road. The car was heading through an area of the city known as the Bowery. The Bowery was a commercial district in Gotham and contained a few notorious landmarks including the Cyrus Pinkney Institute for Natural History, the Gotham Merchant's Bank, the Iceberg Lounge but most noticeable of all, the Carmine Hotel. The hotel was a tall building that peered over the buildings that surrounded it. Seeing the hotel made the car's occupant narrow his eyes in a scowl of disgust. The name "Carmine" was bound to pinch a nerve in him whenever he saw it due to one of the Big Three carrying that name.

Batman ignored the hotel and focused on the road ahead. The car he was driving was not like any car the world had ever seen. The car was as black as the night with jet engines in the back for quick bursts of speed, a sleek exterior and two distinctive fins sweeping backwards on the rear of the far. It looked more like a futuristic car, making it stand out greatly from the other vehicles that were seen driving around the city at night or day. This was the Batmobile, Batman's fastest way of travelling the city on the ground. The Batmobile was quite a marvel of engineering and technology, the very thing that Batman needed in his ongoing crusade against crime. He had WayneTech to thank for the construction of the vehicle and whenever he used it, he continued to be thankful that he had such powerful resources to aid him in his nightly patrols.

As Batman steered the car, he listened intently to the communications systems that had been built into the car. He had programmed the Batmobile to be able to pick up any and all forms of radio communication so that he could pick up if there was a crime that needed his attention. It was why he was there to stop Hans and his gang the night before. He had listened for a few minutes but had heard nothing of interest. Then suddenly, he heard a conversation going on between a few police officers. The officers would have no idea that he, despite being nowhere near them, was right now listening to every word that was being spoken.

"So what do you think to Officer Balent and his ramblings on some kinda smuggling operation happening tonight at Dixon Docks?" one voice asked.

"He sounded pretty sincere Officer Moench, I think we should check it out." the other voice replied.

"It could just be a false alarm ya know."

"But we don't know that. Maybe we should check it out?"

"Our main priority is the Batman Officer Snyder, you heard the commish last night! We're to hunt down the Batman!"

"But Moench, surely we can spare a couple of men to check out this supposed operation?"

"Ya can talk it up with Loeb, but I doubt he'll be happy about it Snyder..."

That was all Batman needed to hear. There was something going on at Dixon Docks and he would be there to check it out. Maybe one of The Big Three was involved and he could get closer to toppling one of them! He had said he would gun for Thorne next so with any luck, it would be Thorne he would see there. He swerved the Batmobile around and charged down the road, heading towards the docks.

"Alfred." he reported, pressing the side of his cowl to activate radio contact with his butler and father-figure, "I've picked up from a radio communication that there's a smuggling operation going on at Dixon Docks. Could be another Big Three case. I'm going to check it out."

"I wish you luck sir." Alfred responded, "What will you do if neither of the Big Three are involved in this operation though?"

"I'll stop it regardless. A crime's a crime, no matter who's involved."

"A very good point sir. I'll continue monitoring you as you go to this operation Master Bruce."

"Thanks. I'll contact you if I need anything."

He put his other hand back on the steering wheel, focusing on the journey ahead as Gotham swept by him and the Batmobile in a blur...

* * *

Over at Dixon Docks, there was busy activity going on. A gang of scruffy but fit looking men were hard at work unloading containers from a huge shipping freighter that had just pulled into the docks a few minutes ago. The ship was huge and had no name. It wasn't even operating under legal procedures. The freighter was carrying illegal cargo and the crew themselves were as criminal as the gang that had come to receive the cargo. Nobody on the site was a saint and they liked it that way. Due to the time of night, there was very little security here at the docks so the gang wouldn't have anybody challenging them. If some scrawny, self-righteous guard tried to stop them, the criminals would just bribe them to make them go away. If they couldn't be bribed, then they would end up sinking to the bottom of the sea to be food for the fishes. Brutal and to the point was how these men worked.

The crane operator maneuvered the machine carefully as it picked up an enormous steel container from the freighter and carried it over onto the concrete bay. A group of men signaled the operator, guiding him so he would not mess up with this procedure. This was delicate work with no room for error whatsoever. And the whole operation was being watched by the man in charge: Rupert Thorne.

Thorne was a portly man with white hair that had come with age. He was in his fifties but looked older. He wore a dark green shirt underneath a black tuxedo and accompanied by a black tie. Thorne was a politician, and a very powerful one at that. He had the mayor's ear and was often able to influence him in the decisions that he would make. Thorne enjoyed his occupation, but it was the true criminal activities that he was part of in the night that he enjoyed the most. And thankfully, it seemed he wouldn't have Falcone or Sionis bothering him tonight. He remembered last week in how Sionis had sent a spy to try and undermine his underworld empire. The spy had been mailed back to Sionis...in tiny bite-sized chunks stuffed in an envelope with the words "Next time, it'll be you" painted on with the spy's own blood. Sionis has responded by breaking into a club Thorne owned and killing the entire staff and everybody inside. Rupert was still plotting his revenge even as the operation before him was carried out. This delivery would give him the perfect revenge on that mask-wearing freak.

The shipping container was settled down, nice and gently, by the crane. Once it had been settled down, one of Thorne's men strode up to the container and pulled out a pair of bolt cutters. He clamped the jaws around the lock and squeezed on the handles, chewing straight through the lock as easily as cutting through paper. The lock fell down onto the ground in pieces and the crate's doors were yanked open by the man. The container held a bunch of wooden crates that were all marked in stencil font with the words "Handle With Care". The criminals didn't care that the cargo was dangerous. They just wanted what was in it already. The men started filing into the container to start unloading the crates. They were full of dangerous weapons, enough to start a small war. Thorne approved. He would start his own war with the other two big criminals and become the unrivaled number one at last. The Big Three would dwindle to The Big One.

"Very good work men!" Rupert complimented, pulling out a Rothman's cigarette and lighting it up, "Very good indeed. Those weapons will benefit us greatly in our crusade against Falcone and Sionis!"

"I couldn't agree more boss." said a smartly dressed man who looked like a chauffeur. That was because he was. He was Thorne's chauffeur, the one responsible for driving him around from place to place in his private limo. He was armed with a semi-automatic pistol and knew how to use it if he had to.

"Sionis dared to ransack my club and leave a pile of bodies for me to clean away...well when we're done here, we'll be knocking on his front door and taking him out!" Rupert growled, "Then Gotham will know what happens when it crosses Rupert Thorne!"

"You said it." the chauffeur nodded.

"If you care Mr. Karlo, you can join in with the massacre." the criminal politician offered, "Think of it as you being in an action movie if you will."

"Yeah...I suppose." Mr. Karlo muttered. Thorne always had to bring up his failed career as an actor didn't he?! Why couldn't his boss just drop it already?!

But just as the men were unloading the container and carrying crates over to a nearby fleet of trucks to take away, something flew through the air and attached itself to the steel exterior. One of the men saw it and took a closer look to see what it was. It was a small flat disc that at first, appeared harmless. But then he noticed that the thing was beeping, as if counting down to something. The man's face went white as he realized what it was.

"BOMB! CLEAR THE AREA!" he shrieked.

Everybody on the site stopped what they were doing and ran for cover. They didn't dare question the man, they just acted. Thorne and Karlo charged over to their limosuine and hid behind it, waiting for the bomb to go off. The disc beeped more and more quickly, signalling it was about to blow. And then the entire container exploded. A huge fireball erupted from the bomb and consumed the container's contents. Any weapons still inside the container would be useless now the explosion had destroyed everything. Only five crates had been unloaded before the bomb had been planted. Thorne and his men emerged from their hiding places, dismayed at what they saw. Their precious cargo had gone up in flames. There were still more crates with weapons though so not all was lost. But nobody had the chance to do anything as out of the blue, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared right in front of the destroyed container. Rupert gasped in horror. Not him, anybody but him! Why did he have to come tonight of all nights?!

"BATMAN!" he gasped, "That cretin is here to ruin everything! Men, waste him!"

His subordinates did not wait to be asked twice. Once the command had been given, Thorne's men pulled out their guns, which had been hidden away for the time being and were now being brought out to use, and took aim at the vigilante. Batman had anticipated the move so he was already on the move as hails of bullets began showering over him, trying to hit a vital spot and finish him off. The suit was bulletproof but even that wouldn't protect Batman forever so he never stayed still when being shot at. He ran behind the blazing wreck of the shipping container to shield himself from the bullets. The men that were shooting at him began running towards the fire to chase him down, leaving Thorne and Karlo behind to make a quick getaway. Thorne quickly scrambled into his limousine while Karlo got into the driver's seat and started it up.

"Get us outta here Basil, quickly!" Rupert shouted.

Basil wasted no time stamping his foot down on the pedal and swerving the limousine out from the docks and away from the battle going on behind them. Batman had seen this and his eyes narrowed. Thorne had gotten away but he would catch him again. Unbeknownst to the criminal boss, Batman had smuggled a tracking device underneath the limousine before he had blown up the container. He would be able to follow Thorne wherever he went and be there to put a stop to his criminal operations once and for all. For now, he had to make sure he made it out of this fight alive. A couple of men armed with pistols ran around the container and pointed them at Batman. Batman spun around, throwing a smoke-bomb straight into their faces before they even had time to so much as aim. Smoke billowed out from the bomb and blinded the men. They coughed, unable to see through the mist. As the smoke blinded them, Batman shot forwards and seized the two men by their necks. He slammed their heads together, knocking them clean out. His cowl had sophisticated technology allowed him to see through the smoke, giving him the advantage over the criminals.

Another man spotted his target and aimed at him. Batman heard him clock the gun and threw a sharp, bat-shaped object at him. He called it a "Batarang" and the criminal found himself crying out in pain as the weapon sliced his hand, leaving an ugly, deep cut that seeped with blood. The pain diverted his attention away from Batman, giving the crime fighter the perfect chance to charge into him, knock his weapon away and headbutt him, knocking the criminal out cold. Another criminal had seen this and decided not to waste time trying to shoot the vigilante. Better to make sure he couldn't walk away before doing so. He ran towards Batman and threw a punch. Batman ducked and uppercut the criminal in the chin, knocking him down onto his back. Another man ran towards him, intending to grab hold of Batman but the crime-fighter heard him so he spun around and jabbed him hard in the gut with some martial arts technique he had learned before starting all of this. The man doubled over, struggling to breathe as the air in his lungs depleted. Batman then grabbed the man and chucked him into the criminal he'd uppercut earlier. The two men sprawled on the ground in a daze.

One man finally got luck and managed to land a blow on Batman. He swung his gun into the back of the vigilante's head, knocking him down onto his knees in one heavy slam. As soon as Batman crumpled, the man aimed his gun, intending to shoot the masked man's head off. But Batman wasn't down for long. Despite his head still swimming, he twisted his body around and grabbed the man's ankle. He tripped the man up, causing him to fall over and drop his gun, which went off and sent a bullet slamming into another man's knee, shattering his kneecap and bringing him down. Batman saw this as an opportunity and quickly took it. The man who had been accidentally shot was the only one left awake so he grabbed him and forced him down onto his back. He pressed his foot down on the hapless man's chest, pinning him down.

"How many bones do I have to break to make you talk?" he growled.

"Ya don't have ta break any! I'll talk!" the man whimpered, trying to fight off the pain in his bleeding knee.

"Good." Batman said grimly, "Why are you and your buddies here? What's Thorne up to? Where did those weapons come from?" he demanded.

"Thorne wants to wage war against Falcone and Sionis!" the man squealed, "The Big Three will become The Big One with him as THE big one! We came here to get the weapons from the freighter so we could use them to blow those guys away! As for where they came from, I don't know!"

"Do you want me to break your other kneecap?" Batman threatened.

"NO! No, no, no!" the man whimpered, "Please, I'm sorry, I'll tell ya! They came from a snakehead gang led by a woman named Copperhead! Thorne's in business with her! She supplied the weapons and shipped them over to Thorne in exchange for cash!"

"Who's Copperhead?" Batman demanded.

The man was about to tell more but before any words could tumble out of his mouth, something happened that took Batman by surprise. A loud bang split through the air and a huge spray of blood suddenly leapt out of the man's head, staining the tarmac. His brains had been blown out, quite literally, but Batman was puzzled by this. The bang was loud, but it sounded much too close for it to have been a gunshot from a nearby assassin. The bang had literally come from directly underneath his foot. Batman looked around to make sure nobody was trying to take a shot at him before kneeling down and observing the dead man. He saw a steaming hole in the top of his head. Of course! The man had been supplied with a miniature bomb under his scalp! It was quite clear that this so-called "Copperhead" woman didn't want anybody telling on her. She had been too late though. Batman had heard the name and now he could start building up a profile about her. Then sooner or later, he would apprehend this woman and terminate her snakehead operations.

With nothing more to do, Batman left the dead man behind and called for the Batmobile. Tonight hadn't been the success he'd hoped for but tomorrow night would likely yield better results. He still had the tracker on Thorne's limo so if Thorne decided to come out again, he could track him down and make the vile man tell him about Copperhead.

"You're not off the hook yet Thorne. I'll get you next time, and then you're gonna lead me to Copperhead..." he declared as the Batmobile came to him and parked just ahead so he could climb in.

Batman sat down, closed the cockpit roof and sped off into the night, leaving the docks behind as the tell-tale sound of a police siren began to approach...

* * *

Meanwhile, Thorne had retreated to his safe house, which was a small building that he owned and used as a place to hide. He would hide here until morning just so Batman wouldn't be able to get him. Rupert hated having to hide but he knew full well that he couldn't make money if he was arrested. Better to live to do battle another day he assured himself.

What a disaster this night had been! This was supposed to be a routine operation and yet this is how it ended up! Batman came sticking his nose in and ruined everything! How had Batman even managed to find him? He couldn't possibly have known that he would be here and that there was an operation going on! Thorne had told only his men and nobody else! It should've been impossible for anybody to have worked out what was going on tonight!

Growling in annoyance, Thorne grabbed a walking stick that he would often use as a weapon, not because he actually needed it, and started pounding the walls and floor in rage.

"Damn it all! Damn that impudent Batman!" Rupert ranted, "Damn him to hell and back!"

"I think you missed out a "damn" or two." Basil muttered sarcastically.

"Don't get funny with me Basil!" snarled Rupert, "Do you have any idea how costly this operation has been?! I paid that witch in snake's clothing a grand total of $75 million to have those weapons shipped over here! And now Batman's gone and destroyed one of the containers and sooner or later, the cops will be there to swipe the remaining weapons, provided Batman doesn't just destroy them first! Most of them work for Falcone and Sionis too so they'll probably hand the weapons over to them and give them the advantage!"

"Leaving us pretty much stuck at the bottom." Karlo murmured, "Any of the cops we control could potentially get them to but I think that's unlikely. Let's just hope Batman clears away the rest of the weapons. Better nobody gets them then our enemies getting them."

"I can't argue with that..." the politician sighed, "But wait until Copperhead hears about this! She'll be after our necks when she hears that all those weapons the snakeheads have shipped over to us haven't reached us! She'll feel her resources have been wasted and..."

The portly man suddenly realized that Karlo wasn't even looking at him anymore. He appeared to be looking over his shoulder for some reason. This irked Thorne.

"What the hell's up with you Basil?!" he snapped.

Basil just pointed, prompting Thorne to turn around and see what it was that was troubling him. What he saw gave him the shock of his life. A sinister figure was lurking in the shadows of the room just behind him and now Rupert was looking at him, the figure stepped out into the light. It was a woman, though this woman didn't look very human at all. Her skin was a sickly pale green colour, her hair was a sandy white and she had snake-like eyes right down to the slit pupils. She bore snake tattoos on her chest and wore a brown jacket that stopped just above her belly-button. She wore trousers and thick black gloves with sharp green claws that came up to her elbow. She wore no shoes and she seemed to be wearing a black domino mask. Little did anybody know that it wasn't a mask at all but some kind of tattoo that gave off the impression it was.

This woman was the closest anybody could possibly get to a living snake-woman. Seeing her made Thorne gasp in terror.

"Hola Senior Thorne..." the snake-woman hissed, speaking in a heavy Spanish accent.

"C-c-copperhead?!" he stammered, completely losing his tough, ruthless demeanor, "W-w-what...how did you...how did you find me?! How do you know this is one of my safe houses?!"

"A snake can find out anything Rupert." Copperhead purred, her voice almost seductive in tone as she spoke, "All it has to do is wrap its coils around the right victim and they tell it anything it wants to know."

Rupert just rolled his eyes. It was just like Copperhead to make one of his men tell her more than he wanted her to know. He had to wonder why he even bothered doing business with her. The snakehead leader crept towards her employer. Even the way she walked didn't seem quite human. It was as if Copperhead was slowly but steadily becoming less and less human and more of a monster every second that ticked by.

"I wanted to make doubly sure that the cargo reached you safely Senior Thorne." Copperhead slithered, running her forked tongue over her teeth, "But it appears that you've had a set back. Some pendejo crossed your path and complicated things...No me gusta Senior Thorne..." she had spoken that last line entirely in Spanish.

Rupert had learned enough Spanish to understand his business partner whenever she dropped into her native language. He nodded slowly.

"Yes...I was unfortunate enough to have my paths crossed by the Batman." Rupert sighed.

"El Batman? Who is El Batman?!" the snake woman demanded.

"Some nutjob in a bat costume who seems to think he has the right to police the criminals of this city..."

"And you and your men got bested by him, si?"

"Afraid so. I had to flee and I haven't had anybody fleeing with me so I can only assume the Batman got them all."

This revelation seemed to anger Copperhead. But not in the way that Thorne had expected. She seemed angry...but also incredulous too, as if Thorne had told her something stupid. Before he knew it, he suddenly felt the sharp prick of one of Copperhead's vicious claws on his throat. He hadn't even seen her move. He was now up close and personal with the snakehead leader.

"MUCHACHO IDIOTA!" the woman screeched venomously, "El bastardo! I spent valuable time and money on shipping those weapons to you and what happens?! You and your band of idiots get bested by some cabrón in a costume?! I thought you and your men were the best of the best senior! Maybe I was wrong to do business with you...what you've paid me will scarcely be of use to me now I've got to use it to replace what you've lost...and you know what happens when my money is wasted..."

"C-c-copperhead...p-p-please!" Thorne begged.

"Lo siento Senior Thorne. La gente que me fallan tienen que pagar con sus vidas." Copperhead slithered.

Both Thorne and Karlo knew exactly what the vile woman had just said. "Sorry Mr. Thorne. People who fail me have to pay with their lives". Copperhead was going to kill Thorne for his failure! They had been warned about this the day the alliance had been formed. Snakeheads do not tolerate failure and they meant it. People who fail end up dead, no questions asked. Copperhead drew her hand back, ready to plunge her claws straight into Rupert's neck. But before the deed could be done, Basil came to his master's rescue.

"Wait, wait Copperhead, don't kill him!" he pleaded, "If you do, how can he pay you back?!"

"He failed me Senior Karlo, therefore he has to die!" the crime mistress snarled, "Do not interfere or I'll eviscerate you too!"

"No, wait, just, just hear me out for a minute, I'm sure we can fix this!" Basil protested, "We can pay you another $75 million if you want, maybe even more! We'll pay you for your services if you want! Heck, we'll pay you if you help us kill the Batman! What do you say to that?"

That offer made the gang leader hesitate for a moment. She turned the thought over several times in her head to see if she liked the idea or not. Thorne stood where he was, sweating profusely and praying Copperhead would say yes. He didn't dare move. If he so much as blinked, Copperhead could finish him off before he even realized what was going on. A tense minute passed before Copperhead lowered her arm and stepped away from Thorne. Her eyes were cold and unfeeling but she didn't appear to be in the mood for killing now.

"I want $200 million." she demanded, "You will pay me that sum of money in return for Batman's death. I will kill Batman but only if you have 200 million waiting for me when I'm done."

"You've got it." Thorne sighed, wiping sweat off of his head, "We'll have $200 million dollars waiting for you after Batman's death."

"You better payaso...or else." the woman warned, baring her fangs.

With that said, she walked straight past the two men and let herself out of the house. Once she had gone, Thorne finally relaxed and pulled out a hankie to wipe the rest of the sweat away from his forehead. He couldn't be more relieved to still be alive now. Basil looked a little nervous.

"We can't just fork over 200 mill to that bitch!" he cried, "You'll end up putting yourself in financial debt! If you pay that much Thorne, it's goodbye to your criminal career!"

"I know...that's why I'm not going to pay that, as the Spanish speakers would say, "bruja" when she does the deed." Rupert growled, "Instead, I'll add her to the body count and tell the snakeheads that she became a victim of the Batman and leave them to worry about finding a new leader."

"And then we sever all ties with them right?"

"Absolutely..."

The two men smiled wickedly. How wonderful it would be to be rid of that freakish woman at last! And to think Batman's interference tonight was the excuse they needed to set up her demise!

* * *

Back down in the Batcave, Batman was sitting down at the Batcomputer once again and staring intently at the screen as he searched for any information on this "Copperhead" individual. On the way back to the cave, it had just occurred to him that the name sounded familiar. He knew full well about the snakhead. Snakeheads were criminal gangs that primarily operated in China. Their basic activities included people smuggling, bribery, hostage-taking, murder, document forgery, illegal immigration and money laundering. It seemed that this gang Thorne was in business with also specialized in weapons-smuggling too. He recalled hearing about a gang being lead by somebody named "Copperhead". But the man he had interrogated had told him that this Copperhead was a woman. He had assumed Copperhead was a man. So he was right now searching for anything that could clear up this confusing matter. As he tapped away on the keyboard, Alfred approached him from behind with a silver tray in his hands. The tray had his master's dinner for the night, kept warm thanks to the silver dish covering it. The butler noticed that Batman was looking into something, watching the various articles flickering by on the screen.

"Thinking about snakes are we?" he remarked humorously.

"I managed to make one of Thorne's men crack." Batman explained, "He mentioned that Rupert's in buisness with a snakehead gang lead by someone named "Copperhead"."

"How fitting a nickname..." Alfred noted, seeing the connection between the gang name and the leader's name.

"I know." Batman agreed, "I can recall hearing about somebody named Copperhead before. But the man I interrogated said "a woman named Copperhead". I always thought Copperhead was male."

"Perhaps you assumed wrong Master Bruce." Pennyworth suggested, "Or maybe there's more than one person using that alias."

The masked man put a finger to his lips in thought. Yes...Alfred had a good point. Maybe that was it. He kept silent as he searched through a few more articles before coming across something promising. It was a news article from a Chinese newspaper printed about a year ago. The Batcomputer translated the Chinese writing into English so Batman could read. The headline said:

 **Snakehead gang leader "Copperhead" shot dead by police**

There was a photograph of a blonde-haired man in a snake costume attached to the article. So that was the answer found at last.

"This Copperhead was killed a year ago, and as we can see, he's clearly male." Batman murmured, "You're right Alfred, this female Copperhead is merely another crony using that name!"

"And Rupert Thorne is in business with her...politicians are very good at making powerful friends." Alfred said gravely, "I doubt she'll be too happy you stuck your nose into her business tonight Master Wayne."

"They're all the same Alfred, no criminal likes their operations being sabotaged." the vigilante said, "But since I managed to smuggle that tracker on Thorne's limo, he could potentially lead me to her. And then I can put an end to her operations along with Thorne's."

"Two big name criminals foiled in one night...that'll be a record for you." the butler lamented.

"Yes, quite." Batman concurred, a brief smile flickering on his lips, "Tomorrow night, I'll chase after Thorne and make him talk. Once he tells me where Copperhead is, I'll go after her and stop her too. Then The Big Three will be down to just The Big Two."

"Won't that make things so much easier for you?" Alfred replied, a slight tone of humour to his words.

"Perhaps." was the only word Batman spoke in response.

He turned away from the Batcomputer and lifted off the lid on his tray, ready to settle down with his nice warm dinner for the night. Tomorrow night was going to be eventful and he knew it...

* * *

Nightfall came once more. Gotham City was blanketed in the dark shadows of the night, promising either a fun time on the town, a good night's sleep or yet another heinous crime waiting to be committed. That was the scary thing about Gotham at night, you never knew what to expect or what kind of night you would get.

Batman was on patrol as usual, sitting on a protruding statue that almost seemed to have been purposefully built there for him especially. Due to his appearance, he almost looked part of the scenery, an illusion foiled whenever he moved around. He glanced down at a small computer device he held in his hand, watching a red dot creep across the screen. Thorne was on the move. Where was he going? Batman patiently waited for the dot to stop moving, eyeing the coordinates carefully so he knew where to head. He had no idea how much time passed before the dot finally stopped. He observed the coordinates displayed on the screen. It seemed Thorne had gone to Dixon Docks again. Maybe he was there to see if any of the weapons Copperhead had shipped to him could be salvaged. Batman smiled grimly. The weapons were long gone now, something he had picked up from radio communications. Last night, he had heard officers talking about finding the weapons and gathering them up so they could be taken to the GCPD headquarters and locked away forever. They had done this after he had left the scene last night. The costumed crime fighter knew Jim Gordon would make sure those weapons never saw the light of day. He was a good cop and one of the few who seemed to be doing his job properly, something he approved of.

Still, Thorne was at Dixon Docks and Batman intended to catch him while he had the chance. He had to hurry before Thorne started moving again. With his target now still, Batman leapt off the building and spread out his huge, bat-like cape as if he was a real bat spreading its wings out to take flight. The cape acted as a gliding mechanism, allowing him to effortlessly travel through the air in a graceful gliding motion. He occasionally swept down as if in a dive-bomb and then spread the cape out again so that he could gain some height and remain airborne. He had practiced this move many times in order to get it right and now it was paying off, quite beautifully in fact. Batman soared through the air, keeping an eye out for danger as he headed towards the docks. He was starting to lose height but he quickly pulled out his grappling gun and fired at another building. A large claw attached to a strong, nylon cable grabbed hold of a corner of the building and Batman pressed the retract button, pulling himself quickly towards the building and sending himself hurling into the air once more, giving him several more feet of height to glide over. There was something quite enjoyable about the feeling of the wind in his face as he glided through the air like a bat hunting its prey. Not only was it refreshing, but it reminded him of the complete freedom he had at night, freedom to tackle crime and make Gotham a safer, happier place.

After a few minutes had passed, Batman spotted the overweight crime boss. He was standing close to his limo and appeared to be smoking. It was clear he wanted to be close to his vehicle so he could make a quick getaway if needed, which was a very good idea. Batman noticed something odd. Thorne...was alone! The only person with him was his chauffeur Basil Karlo! This puzzled the masked man. Thorne never went anywhere without back up! What was his game now? Was this some sort of trap? It didn't matter, Batman had spent years training and practicing how to escape from traps so Thorne could do what he liked, this trap wouldn't catch him. Batman began to close in on Rupert, descending like an eagle about to grab a rabbit. Thorne had no idea on the approaching danger. His eyes were fixed ahead as he drew on the cigarette, smoke curling around his face. Karlo was on the ship, looking for any signs of the weapons they should've been storing away last night. He climbed down from the freighter and shrugged helplessly.

"Sorry boss, it looks as if the place has been stripped clean of the goods." he sighed, "The police must've snagged everything."

"And given some of them work for Falcone and Sionis, I can only bet that they're on their way to those bastards right now..." Rupert growled, "I'll contact Officer Kane and Officer Finger and get them to smuggle the weapons out of the GCPD and over to us. Hopefully we're not too late and we can..."

"Rupert, look out!" Basil suddenly exclaimed, gesticulating wildly.

Rupert didn't even hesitate or question what Basil was talking about. He turned around and yelled out loud as a pair of chunky feet slammed down into his shoulders and knocked him down onto his back. He was so startled that he didn't even cry out. Basil froze, not daring to move as Batman grabbed hold of his boss's tuxedo and hoisted him off the floor. How strong was this man?! Rupert must at least weigh a tonne and Batman picked him up as if he weighed nothing! Batman spun around and slammed Thorne against the limo, cracking one of the windows.

"Unhand me at once charlatan!" snarled Thorne, "Do you have any idea who I am Batman?!"

"I know exactly who you are and you're not what you say you are in the public's view." Batman retorted, "A little bird last night told me that you're doing business with a snakehead gang. He said you're working with the leader of that gang. So tell me now Thorne...who's Copperhead?"

"Copperhead?" Rupert asked innocently, "No idea what you mean. I've never heard of anyone named..."

He was rewarded with another slam against the limo, almost breaking the cracked window completely.

"DON'T. LIE. TO ME." Batman snarled, his voice containing a heavy air of menace that made the criminal politician feel more nervous, "Tell me, who's Copperhead and why are you working with her. Or get ready to eat through a straw..."

"If you want to know that badly cretin then why don't you ask her yourself?" Rupert sneered, his face smug as if everything was OK and there was nothing wrong.

Batman knew what Thorne meant by that. Copperhead must be around. But where? He soon found out for he heard something leap up into the air and let out a blood-curdling screech that could freeze even the most courageous of man. He turned around, but not quick enough, just in time to see a shape coming towards him and land straight on top of him. Copperhead grabbed hold of Batman, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a boa constrictor and she began to squeeze as Batman struggled, trying to throw her off. Rupert grinned maliciously. What joy it was to be watching Batman get his comeuppance for last night! He would make sure his enemies heard about this and then they would start to fear him and respect him more. The man who offed the Batman, what a great title that would be!

Copperhead cackled as she constricted her prey, intending to squeeze the very life out of him. But Batman was much stronger than she was and he managed to force her arms off from around him. He grabbed her legs, spun her around and tossed her into the air like a rag doll. Copperhead somersaulted effortlessly and then landed down on the ground perfectly. She grinned malevolently, running her forked tongue over her fangs. She bared her claws, ready to strike as Batman approached her.

"Hola Senior..." she purred, "So you must be El Batman, the bastardo who made a complete idiota out of my client, Senior Thorne. I didn't think you'd be this good looking in person..."

"You must be Copperhead." Batman muttered, hiding the fact that he was utterly astonished by her appearance. He'd never seen such an ugly woman before, let alone anything as monstrous as her! She was no mere criminal...she was a freak! Maybe some kind of mutant! Whatever she was, she was beyond anything he'd seen or even fought before.

"Ah asombroso! You figured it out! Ha, ha, ha! You are absolutely correct Batman, I am indeed Copperhead..." the snake-woman hissed, "No doubt one of Thorne's spineless cowards mentioned my name to you! That's why I had him killed before he could tell you too much last night..."

Rupert wasn't surprised about this at all. He had even approved of having his men equipped with bombs in their heads so nobody could tell on him or Copperhead. It was the best way to keep their hands clean.

"Why are you working with Thorne?" Batman demanded.

"He pays me well in return for my services. Is that good enough for you?" Copperhead sneered.

"Maybe you can tell the court that when I throw you and Thorne in a prison cell." the vigilante threatened.

"You'll have to defeat me first pendejo!" the gang leader screeched.

She then suddenly stampeded towards her prey, fangs bared and claws ready for a stab. That $200 million reward was about to be hers! Batman dived out the way just as Copperhead came closing in on him. Rupert and Basil saw this as the perfect time to get away. No point in hanging around while the two freaks of nature had their battle. Basil scrambled into the driver's seat and Thorne climbed in behind him, closing the door quickly so that they could get going. Basil started the limo and hoping to get at least one shot at Batman, drove it straight towards him as he prepared to attack Copperhead. Batman saw the vehicle cruising towards him and quickly jumped up onto the bonnet. He leapt up again, sailing over the limo and allowing it to pass by. He couldn't waste time in trying to capture Rupert now, he had to deal with Copperhead first. The tracker was still on the limo, he could easily get Thorne next time. But Copperhead could easily disappear and he'd have no way of finding her again. What if she started attacking the civilians? He couldn't let her. He had to stop her now.

As Thorne and Karlo escaped, Batman drew out a Batarang and braced himself for another attack. Copperhead was down on all fours, contorting her body unnaturally to replicate the movement of a quadrupedal creature. Either she was really good at yoga or this woman was clearly not human. Batman threw the weapon at his opponent, aiming between the eyes. But Copperhead moved way too quickly, dodging the Batrang before it had traveled through even half the distance between it and her. She scampered towards Batman on all fours, moving as fast as a cat, and she sprang into the air. Batman threw another Batarang, this time hitting his assailant. Copperhead cried out as she was knocked down onto the ground, clutching her face in pain. Batman charged towards her and grabbed her arms, intending to pin her down. But then Copperhead contorted herself, moving her leg somehow out from underneath her opponent and then wrapping it around him. She then wrapped her arms around Batman again, pulling him onto the ground and squeezing him tightly. The two struggled for a moment, clawing at each other until Batman managed to wrench himself free from the villainess's grip.

He stood back up, pulling Copperhead onto her feet and he socked her twice in the face. The reptilian-esque woman took the blows, not seeming to be fazed by them at all. She then drew her arm back and punched Batman in the jaw, snapping his head aside and throwing him aside. Then Copperhead spun on the spot, sweeping her leg through the air and sending her foot crashing into the side of Batman's head. Despite her slender frame and agile appearance, Copperhead was much stronger than she looked, something Batman now realized as his head began reeling from the kick. This woman was more than she appeared and he knew it. Batman shook his head, trying to get his senses back but all that did was leave him open to attack. Copperhead lashed out with a powerful punch straight at Batman's solar plexus. The suit cushioned part of the blow for the masked man but it was still enough to make him double over in pain. Then Copperhead grabbed Batman's shoulders and swung her knee straight into his face. The blow was enough to throw the vigilante backwards, almost over onto his back. He shook it off, forcing himself to focus as he tried to anticipate Copperhead's next move.

He noticed that the snake-woman was about to claw him. Her green claws were spread open and she was drawing her arm back, focusing all her strength into it so she could make this slash very, very powerful and painful. She attacked but Batman leaned over backwards, leaving Copperhead to slash through empty air. He then grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm aside. This made the woman screech in pain and try to wrestle free from his grip. But Batman was too strong for her. Then the costumed crime-fighter pulled her forwards and drove his knee straight into her stomach. This knocked the wind out of her and caused her to stagger backwards. Then Batman swung his leg up and kicked her in the chin, throwing her head back and sending a spray of blood leaping out from her mouth. Copperhead stumbled and fell over onto her back, clutching her arm and wincing in pain. But she wasn't down for long. In fact, she sat up...and started _laughing_! This disturbed Batman. Did Copperhead find pain amusing or something? She slowly climbed back onto her feet, a snake-like grin spreading across her lips.

"Fantástico Batman!" she crowed, "Such bravado and skill you've displayed! And I seriously began to wonder if this conflict was going to bore me..."

"Sorry to disappoint." Batman retorted.

"As much as I'm enjoying our fight though," Copperhead hissed, "It must come to an end. Senior Thorne has a big reward for me should I kill you and bring your corpse to him!"

So she was doing this to get a reward from Rupert himself. Boy would the GCPD get a kick out of hearing this story when he delivered her and Thorne to them! Not even Thorne's most rabid supporters would save him now. Batman reached for his utility belt just as Copperhead dropped down on all fours and scampered towards him like a monstrous dog. He was going to throw a stun grenade at her, blinding her for long enough to leave her vulnerable to an attack. But Copperhead moved inhumanly fast, already leaping towards him as Batman grabbed hold of the grenade. She collided into him just as he was about to throw it, knocking him down onto his back and causing him to drop the grenade. Copperhead saw it and grabbed it eagerly, wondering what it was. She then sneered smugly at Batman as she tossed it into the water nearby.

"Your toys won't save you from the deadly snake bite Batman..." the gang leader hissed confidently.

Batman gritted his teeth. Copperhead was not only abnormally strong and fast but she seemed very intelligent too. She was catching onto the fact he had gadgets to fight with and that made her an even deadlier opponent then he could've anticipated. He had to finish this fight now! He reached into his utility belt to grab another stun grenade just as Copperhead sprinted towards him. He didn't throw it but instead, pressed a button that set a ten-second delay on the gadget. He jumped out of the way just as Copperhead jumped towards him and he threw it at her just as the timer reached 5 seconds. Copperhead saw the grenade and grabbed it, intending to get rid of it again before Batman could use it. But then the grenade exploded, unleashing a huge, white flash that blinded her. Copperhead wasn't used to a lot of light and right now, her eyes felt like they were on fire. She screamed in anger, clutching her eyes and trying to ease the pain. Now she was distracted, Batman sprinted forwards and threw a terrific punch to the face that almost took the woman's head clean off. Copperhead staggered, nearly falling over, and then Batman swung his leg into the woman's side. That knocked her down onto her right knee and hand and before she could recover, Batman grabbed her hair, pulled her back onto her feet and punched her in the cheek once again.

The blows to her felt more like she was being pummeled by a hammer than an actual human being. Copperhead could barely comprehend how Batman was so strong. She'd fought many men in her life, but none as powerful as this. Copperhead collapsed onto her side, spitting out blood and rubbing her eyes. Her vision was beginning to return and her eyes hurt less now. She looked up...only to get kicked hard in the face by Batman. The blow was so heavy and so sudden that Copperhead barely registered what had just happened. She was now on her back, staring up at the sky. The snakehead climbed back onto her feet and cricked her neck as if she was just getting warmed up. Now she could see again, Batman would get the beating of a life time. The caped crusader pounded towards Copperhead, his arm drawn back and ready for a powerful punch to the gut. But Copperhead struck first, slugging Batman in the gut with a punch that knocked the wind out of him. Batman doubled over, taken aback by the blow, and before he could recover, Copperhead slashed him across the face with her claws. Batman cried out in pain and clutched his face. The vicious woman's claws had left a few bloody cuts across the exposed section of Batman's face but to his surprise, they actually damaged the cowl too! He felt the scratches left on the cowl, surprised that they had managed to penetrate the thick material.

Copperhead hissed with delight and jumped onto Batman again. She wrapped her limbs around his body but she didn't just try and squeeze him to death. She stabbed him in the side with her claws, penetrating the material of the Batsuit and the tips sinking into the flesh underneath Batman yelled, his pained screams carrying all the agony he was feeling right now. He grabbed hold of his opponent and wrenched her hand out from his side. He kicked her away, knocking her down onto the ground. But then Batman noticed something. Copperhead's claws were stained with his blood as expected but he saw a few drops of some kind of green liquid staining the tarmac and dripping from the tips of her claws. He looked down at the puncture wounds in his side, noticing that there was some green liquid coalescing with his blood. It couldn't be that...could it?! Copperhead sneered, her face twisting into a hideous smile.

"I killed you. And in a few more minutes, your body will realize it." she gloated, "Coursing through your veins right now is my own poison, made specially by me and responsible for hundreds of deaths caused by me!"

Batman could hardly believe his ears. This criminal was not only inhuman but she was equipped with a poison?! What kind of criminal had he just come up against?! He grunted as pain flared through his side. He couldn't keep the fight up any longer, he had to retreat so he could find an antidote for it. If he didn't, the poison would finish him off and Gotham's crime rate would never drop down. Clutching his side, Batman grunted.

"I'll let you go this once..." he said weakly, "But once I'm cured, I'll be coming back for you and your partner."

"Lo siento, Batman. Pero mi veneno es la muerte." Copperhead gloated, "You can try and find a cure, but my poison will kill you before you get close to making it! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Believing her job was done, Copperhead ran off into the night, leaving Batman to die. She was supremely confident that she had done the deed and was content to just leave Batman to succumb to the effects of her toxin. Rupert Thorne would be so happy to hear this! As she left, Batman pressed a few buttons on one of his arm gauntlets to summon the Batmobile to him. He had to get home and fast...or the poison would be sending him to the same place his parents had been sent many, many years ago...

* * *

 _ **OH NOES! BATMAN'S BEEN POISONED! 0_0**_

 _ **Has Copperhead won? Will Batman survive this night? Or is this going to be his last?!**_

 _ **Tune in next time as Batman finds himself face-to-face with "The Roman"...**_


	4. Episode 3: The Roman

_Episode 3: The Roman_

 _Gotham City, Park Row, The Church Cemetery, a week after the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne…_

 _The funeral had not taken long to arrange. When you are somebody with the wealth and connections that the Wayne Family has, it never takes long to arrange anything. It had only been a week since the tragic deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne and yet today, the funeral was being carried out. Alfred had wanted to arrange it for as soon as possible so that the Waynes could be put to rest and Bruce could move on to other things in life, and hopefully come to grips with their deaths at last._

 _Truth be told, even if the funeral had taken place the very next day, Bruce would never be able to get over such a horrible night. His parents were two of the loveliest people he had ever known! Why did two such wonderful people have to die that night? Why had they been so cruelly snatched away from the world of the living and taken to the afterlife like this? Why had the killer been allowed to get away with this crime?! He hadn't been caught yet and as time ticked away, Bruce began to lose hope he would ever be found despite Jim Gordon's solemn vows that the killer would eventually be caught. He was as of this moment, exhausting every resource valuable to him to find this evil killer. The deaths of such notorious people would not go unpunished in his eyes._

 _And now here Bruce was, standing with Alfred as the funeral for the billionaire couple was taking place. Hundreds of guests had gathered around, all hiding under umbrellas to shield themselves from the rain. It was as if nature itself was crying for Thomas and Martha Wayne. Bruce stood beside Alfred, the butler holding his umbrella over them both as the rain sprinkled down. He fought back the tears that were just forming around his eyes as he saw the coffins containing his beloved mother and father being lowered down into the earth. This would be the last time anybody would ever see them. The guests were all silent as the priest read aloud, commemorating the couple and wishing them well in heaven._

 _Words were spoken but Bruce didn't register any of them. It was almost as if he was somewhere else entirely, not quite part of the crowd, not quite connected to the real world. He was so distant that the child barely even realized that the speech was over and now the graves were being filled in. Many of the guests were filing out from the site, looking forward to the after-service buffet that was on offer. Bruce wasn't hungry so he didn't follow them. How could he possibly have an appetite at such a depressing time like this? Alfred took Bruce by the hand, the young boy finally acknowledging that he was still in the real world. He looked up at his butler._

 _"Come Master Wayne, we needn't hang about much longer." Alfred said._

 _Bruce nodded and he and Alfred began to walk away. The billionaire kid was almost sad to be leaving the graves. They were the only things he had to stay connected to his parents, even feel their presence despite them being buried underneath tonnes of dirt. He had promised to visit the graves as often as possible so that he would never truly be away from them. But as he and Alfred were leaving, a smartly-dressed man stepped in front of them. He was very tall and looked rather imposing to Bruce due to his great height. He had a tough composure, hard grey eyes and a black moustache that looked more like two lines of hair than a proper moustache. He was beginning to grey in his hair, a sign of his age catching up to him. He wore a single rose in his breast pocket. If anybody looked at this man, they'd immediately assume he was bad business. But to Bruce, he didn't look like much, just a boring, old looking man. But he knew him, he had seen him before. And so had Alfred._

 _"Why hello Mr. Falcone." Alfred said, "We were just heading back into the mansion. Can we help you?"_

 _"I just got some words of my own I'd like to give to the boy." the man, Falcone, said, "You mind if I speak to him?"_

 _He spoke with an American accent but there was a faint trace of an Italian accent in his words. Bruce had picked up on that the day he had first seen Falcone. He must be Italian-American in nature. Falcone knelt down to Bruce's height, not smiling but still managing to look comforting and friendly regardless. It was something he did with his eyes. You could appear friendly without needing to smile and Bruce knew it._

 _"Bruce, I'm sure you know how much your father's death effects." Falcone said softly, "After all, he once saved my life. I wanted to repay him for that act of kindness and generosity but now...it feels as if I have a debt that can never be repaid."_

 _The young boy nodded slowly. He knew what Falcone meant. He had even seen it with his own eyes. His father, Vincent Falcone, had brought him to Thomas Wayne so he could be healed. Carmine had begged not to be taken to a hospital for he feared that the man who had shot him, a Luigi Maroni, would just finish the job so Thomas had taken him home to Wayne Manor for surgery. Bruce had watched the whole thing, fascinated yet terrified at the same time. His father was a hero, a true hero and now he would never get to save a life again. Carmine seemed to share Bruce's dismay._

 _"I hope your father and his wife will rest in peace Bruce." Falcone continued, "And...as a token of my gratitude to what your father did...you can always ask a favour of me."_

 _Bruce was slightly startled to hear this. Carmine Falcone, the shipping giant and garbage collector, was saying that he could ask a favour of him? He never thought that a man of such wealth and power would ever say those words to a young boy like him. He could see why Falcone was offering this though. In a way, he was finding another way to repay his debt to Thomas by doing something for his son. He was silent, not sure how to respond. Carmine seemed to understand why._

 _"I know, you require some time alone to come to grips with the tragedy." he said gently, "Well Bruce, I'll leave you and Alfred in peace. Remember, if there's anything you need, you can ask away. I'll be happy to repay my debt to your father through you son."_

 _With that said, the Italian-American straightened up and walked away, leaving Bruce and Alfred alone in the cemetery to watch him leave. Little did Bruce know was that he and Falcone would become enemies many years later...but Falcone would never, ever know this..._

* * *

 _Now..._

Alfred was relieved to see the familiar shape of the Batmobile cruising through the tunnels and heading towards its parking space in the Batcave. No matter how many times Batman went out into the world to fight off the monsters the night seemed to create, he would always be relieved to see him back. As he knew, there could be a day where Batman's next outing could well be his last.

But as his master exited his vehicle, the butler began to feel that this night may well be his last. Batman staggered out of the Batmobile, looking as if he could hardly stand. It was miraculous he had even managed to drive properly on his way back to the cave. He was clutching his side, which had four holes visible in the suit, and Alfred could see that there were bloodstains and something green on the material. Pennyworth ran over to his master to help him over to the Batcomputer.

"Master Bruce! Goodness gracious me, what happened?!" he exclaimed.

"I met Copperhead." Batman explained, "It didn't end well. She's poisoned me. I'm beginning to feel week..." he grunted, his voice beginning to sound distant, almost far away.

"My word...I'll get you over to the medical bay so we can find out what kind of poison it is you're tainted with." Alfred offered.

He quickly hurried the vigilante over to the medical bay, which was on a platform just beside the Batcomputer. The bay consisted of a simple bed, some equipment for analyzing the patients and cabinets full of medical equipment. It was like a miniature hospital, a lot more potent and well-equipped than a simple medical bay. Batman was laid down on the bed and Alfred went over to a machine. He switched it on and expertly operated it to perform a diagnostic scan. The machine was a mechanical arm with sensor beams and scanning equipment stored in the "head" section. This kind of machinery would be the envy of any doctor in the world, not just Gotham City. The machine ran a blue scanning beam over Batman. The masked man lay still as the beam documented every bit of information it picked up from his body from his blood type to the size of his internal organs. Once it reached his side, the beam turned green and the screen that was attached nearby came up with a warning. It had detected what was wrong with Batman and Alfred stared at the screen as bunch of text began to type itself up, displaying the information it had picked up. It said:

 **Patient Analysis: Poison detected coursing through bloodstream**

 **Analysis of poison: Powerful neurotoxin. Foreign make, quite different from other poisons of the same name**

 **Prognosis: Will lead to sickness, tiredness and eventual deconstruction of body tissue, organ function and eventual death**

Alfred could only gasp as the machine relayed its information to him. Batman knew straight away that this wasn't good news, sitting up with great difficulty.

"So...not good?" he muttered.

"You better believe it Master Bruce..." Alfred said, his face deathly pale. He looked like a ghost as he delivered the news, "You're infected with a neurotoxin that will quite literally cause you to deconstruct piece by piece! If we don't get you cured you'll..."

"I know." Batman interrupted, "Ungh...I can't die now. Not like this. We must make an antidote immediately."

"Absolutely." the Englishman agreed, "The medical scanner should be able to identify what we need to make a cure."

Just as he had said, the medical scanner was already filing through the medical data files in order to identify a cure for the poison coursing through Batman's bloodstream. Various names and labels flickered across the screen as the computer searched. There wasn't a virus in its databanks that it wouldn't be able to find a cure for, technology that Batman knew he was lucky to have given his vast wealth. Being filthy rich like he was had its benefits, many, many benefits to his crusade against crime.

In a matter of seconds, the computer had found what it was looking for and was now relaying some information for anybody looking at the screen to read. The cure for Copperhead's neurotoxin had been identified and Alfred quickly read through the walls of text to see what it was. He read:

 **Cure Identified: Malzone**

 **Information: Very potent medicine that can cure many forms of neurotoxin by repairing damages done to tissue, bone and organ functions by the toxin. Expensive to buy and difficult to produce to the scarce nature of its ingredients.**

 **Side effects include: Brief periods of light-headedness, sickness, tiredness and dry throats. Side effects generally wear off in a few hours up to a couple of days.**

"The antidote we need is Malzone Master Bruce." Alfred announced, "That should cure you in no time at all."

"Good thing…" Batman paused as he began to cough, "…we have the ingredients needed to make some right now. Let's get…making it."

"I'm afraid we cannot do that." the butler sighed, "There's a primary ingredient we don't have. We used the last of it to make an antidote to help cure those poor folk in Africa who were suffering from Ebola. You even organized a charity event to donate the antidote to as many people as possible."

The wealthy superhero nodded, cursing himself mentally. He remembered what Alfred had said. They had indeed used the last of that ingredient to donate an antidote to Ebola victims during a charity run a couple of years back. So if they were to make some Malzone, they would need to get some more of the primary ingredient. But how long would he last? Would he get it in time? Batman wasn't sure but his slowly decaying body was telling him that it wouldn't be long at all.

No, he couldn't go and get the ingredient tonight. There was no time for that. He'd be dead before sunrise. Batman thought for a moment. He could try a different antidote and hope it works. Or...

"Alfred, I think I know what needs to be done." Batman suddenly declared.

"What might that be then Master Wayne?" Alfred asked curiously.

"We all know that Malzone is expensive to buy and thus you can't just get it anywhere." the vigilante explained, "So a lot of the time, drug lords and smugglers tend to grab as much as they can and sell them off for great prices. If I'm to be cured, I'll have to go out and infiltrate a drug lord's hideout in order to get the Malzone."

"Master Bruce, that's a suicide mission!" the butler protested, "You're already dying sir, you can't go out and challenge criminals just to get the antidote you need! They'll tear you apart before you get your hands on it!"

"I have to do it Alfred, it's the only way." Batman sighed, shaking his head. It wasn't that he thought Alfred was saying something stupid, it was that he knew Alfred was right but he had no other solution to the problem, "Ordering one ourselves will take too long. I'll be dead before it arrives. Even ordering the ingredient we need to make our own Malzone will take too long. It's risky but I have no other options. I'll have to get some Malzone from a liable source, namely a drug lord that has a plentiful stash of the medicine."

"And what liable source is that then, dare I ask?"

There was a brief but daunting pause that fell over the Batcave. The only sound that could be heard in that brief pause was the trickling waterfalls all around the cave. Then Batman answered his butler's question.

"The Roman."

* * *

Carmine Falcone was a very sophisticated gentleman. Even when he was committing criminal acts he maintained a posh demeanour and tried his best to remain civil and pleasant, even when he was condemning somebody to their death. It showed in the very establishment he inhabited that he was a man of great wealth and taste. In the criminal underworld, he was nicknamed "The Roman" for he had control over Gotham like an emperor over the Roman Empire. Also his penthouse was designed like Roman architecture, another thing that inspired the nickname.

Falcone was one of the infamous Big Three, and possibly the richest of them all. His fame came from running a shipping company called "Falcone Shipping" and garbage collections. While those were legitimate businesses, they were merely just fronts for Falcone to use to hide his true actions. Like any crime lord, he could hide in plain sight because of this facade, appearing a legitimate businessman to the public but being the most ruthless and dangerous crime lord behind the scenes. He ran drug operations and illegal arms trading. The criminal acts along with his legitimate businesses made him a very rich and powerful man, so much so that he had a majority of the CGPD, including Commissioner Loeb, and some of Gotham's most famous politicians in his pocket. This made him virtually untouchable to the law and thus, anybody who suspected him couldn't get him locked away. It didn't help either that any evidence that somebody would find to pin Falcone to any crimes had a "habit of disappearing".

Right now, Carmine was relaxing in his elegant living room and holding a rose in his hand. The room contained hordes of Roman pottery, a lion-skin carpet and brightly polished wooden furniture. A grand chandelier hung over his head almost like it was watching over everybody in the room. He liked to think of this as his "very own throne room" in his "own roman palace". The only thing in the room that didn't look old or vintage was the presence of a huge glass tank containing a few giant snakes.

The snakes were Black Mambas and were about 8 to 9 feet long. Native to Africa, the Black Mamba had a fearsome reputation for being highly poisonous, possibly the deadliest snake in the world, with toxins that could cause humans to collapse in 45 minutes with death occurring in 7-15 hours unless the poison was cured. The tank contained piles of bones, all of them belonging to what had once been actual living human beings. Anybody who upset Carmine often suffered a grisly death and the snake tank was one of them. Nobody who was thrown into the tank ever made it out alive.

Falcone briefly sniffed at the rose in his hand, enjoying the pleasant aroma of the beautiful flower. Tonight was a very good night and he was making the most of it. Batman hadn't been sticking his nose in where it didn't belong unlike the other night. He still regretted having to order Loeb to murder his best smuggler, Hans Teller, but as any good criminal knows, the last thing you need is your own men squealing on you. But given Batman seemed to be dabbling in Rupert Thorne's affairs lately, Carmine was left in peace to carry out his operations as normal. Tonight in particular was proving very interesting for not only had the cops on his payroll managed to smuggle some weapons that were meant for Thorne out of the CGPD and over to him but he had heard that Batman was now dabbling with the snakehead leader, Copperhead. He knew all about Copperhead and knew for a fact that if she was involved, Batman was going to end up dead. No more masked maniacs to get in his way!

Then Carmine heard the sound of footsteps entering his room. He looked up from the rose in his hand and saw that, to his pleasure, it was his beloved son Alberto Falcone. Alberto was a young, handsome looking man in his twenties. He seemed to share his father's taste in wealth for he was wearing an expensive suit and tie and he wore several rings on his fingers, each one an expensive brand and very beautiful looking. Alberto often joked that he "wore his wealth on his hands". Carmine agreed, thinking the term was quite appropriate. Though not as powerful as his father, Alberto controlled a large portion of Gotham too and shared his father's ruthless side.

"Hey dad." Alberto said casually.

"Hello son." Carmine replied, "How goes tonight's operations?"

"Like clockwork." the criminal son said cheerfully, "We've got ourselves plenty of weapons thanks to Loeb and the men we control and our latest drug operation is going as planned. We're making a killing tonight! And Batman's not getting in our way for once! He's too busy tangling with Thorne to bother about us!"

"And to think in a sense, we ought to thank the masked man for making it possible for us to get these weapons we know possess." the Roman murmured, "He infiltrated Thorne's operations last night, leaving the weapons to fall into police custody and now a large portion of the cargo is ours."

"Pity we couldn't get all of it dad." Alberto sighed, "Damn Sionis had some of his men deliver the goods too. From what our guys have calculated, we probably have just about half of what was seized from that freighter last night. Sionis may have the other half."

"He may so indeed Alberto but the Falcones will emerge on top of this petty little conflict of ours." Carmine declared, "My family has been running this city for years and I do not intend to be the one that loses control of what we have. When the time is right, we will storm Sionis Industries and take out as much of his men as we can, and then gun for the skull-faced freak himself."

"And once we take him and Thorne out, heh, heh, there won't be a "Big Three" anymore. It'll be the "Big One", which is how it should be and how it should always be!" Alberto cried enthusiastically.

"Indeed my son." Carmine concurred, standing up from his chair, "And when those two challengers are gone, nobody will ever dare challenge the Falcones again!"

He clenched his fist as if to emphasize his point. Alberto smiled widely, a wild gleam in his eyes. This was when his father was at his best, when he was displaying his true colours as a ruthless criminal overlord and not hiding behind his innocent public image like he mostly did. He admired his father and hoped dearly to be the one to succeed him in the family business. In fact, maybe he could have his first try at leading an operation sometime soon and show his father he was worthy to succeed him. The criminal son thought he'd give it a try, although he felt a little nervous. He didn't quite understand why though, there was no reason to be nervous in front of his own father.

"So dad...um..." Alberto began, trying to find the right words.

"Yes? What is it?" the Don asked.

"Well dad, you've been running this...business for quite a while...and uh..." Alberto tried his best not to stammer though when you're in the presence of such a powerful criminal personality, it is not easy to keep your tone even. "Well...I'm a lot older now and I wondered...ya know? If I could have a chance at running the family business one night or so. Ya know...to have a taste of what your job is like...and prepare myself for the day I succeed you..."

Carmine took in his son's words with interest, curling a finger around his lips. He had known his son would eventually ask the biggest question of his life and had been waiting patiently for the time he would ask about having a turn in the spotlight. A brief silence befell the room as Falcone pondered over his son's request. One of the snakes even came up to the glass wall of its tank as if waiting to hear what he was going to say. Then Carmine answered.

"Son, I can understand completely the request you've given me." he said, his tone of voice perfectly measured as well as his words, "And there will be a day where the family business will fall into your hands. But for now, I do not believe you're ready to lead an operation yet."

"But dad, you've not given me any opportunities to prove myself worthy!" Alberto protested, "How will you know I'm ready if you don't let me try?!"

"These are trying times son, the Big Three and the Batman are big operations and names to tick off our list." Carmine explained, "It's not that I do not value your skills or deem you unworthy, it's just that experience is what is fundamental to our cause at this moment. Placing something this big in less experienced hands could end disastrously."

"But I'm not inexperienced! I control my own portion of Gotham!" Alberto argued, "I own the whole fucking Bowery for starters and I can run that place like clockwork! Surely I'm ready to my time as a leader just for a night or two!"

"Running a portion of a city is not the same as dealing with three men, two crime lords and one vigilante, who can potentially cause your empire to fall apart with the right methods." Carmine retorted, "Your time will come son Alberto, but not now. I'm sorry, but that's how it has to be for now."

The crime boss was tempted to argue some more but he knew one important thing about his father. When he said no, he meant it and you had to accept what he said or else. Falcone wasn't backing down and Alberto was merely wasting time trying to make him see things his way. Sighing, he threw his arms up and shook his head. He'd just have to do what he was told for now, his time would come soon just as his father had promised.

"Yes dad, sorry dad." he muttered.

"Very good son." Falcone said, his voice genuinely warm and pleasant, "Now then, let us talk about other matters, like your upcoming birthday party..."

* * *

"Master Bruce, you cannot be serious!" Alfred gasped, looking utterly flustered as if he couldn't believe what his master was about to do.

"I've stressed the point enough times Alfred, it's the only way we're gonna save me from a horrible death." Batman retorted, walking up towards the Batmobile, "I've gotta challenge Falcone once more and get a supply of Malzone. He's the only criminal in Gotham I know who has any."

"But you're on death's door Master Bruce, Falcone will kill you before you get your hands on any of the antidote!"

"He won't even know I'm there Alfred..."

Upon mentioning that The Roman had a supply of Malzone, something that came with being a drug dealer and the fact he had the recently deceased Hans Teller fetching him whatever he demanded, Batman had given Alfred an idea on what he was up to. The butler was, inevitably, adamant and was trying his best to talk the caped crusader out of this suicide mission. If the neurotoxin from Copperhead didn't kill Batman then Falcone would. But Batman wasn't hearing any of it. He sat himself down in the Batmobile and prepared to take off into the night once again. The neurotoxin wouldn't finish him off for a while yet. Due to Batman's great physical peak and health, he would last longer under the poison than the average person. He might even be alive for another hour or so, giving him enough time to find the Malzone he could use to cure himself.

But just as he was about to leave, Alfred stood in the way and placed his hands on the bonnet. He wasn't going to let Batman leave that easily. Batman narrowed his eyes at his butler.

"Get out of the way Alfred." he ordered, not quite shouting at him but his voice still raised and commanding as he spoke the words.

"Master Wayne, I vowed to your parents as they were put to rest that I would not let you die like they did!" Alfred pleaded, "I cannot in good conscience allow you to just drive off into the night with a deadly poison in your bloodstream tearing you apart piece by piece and thus, guaranteeing that you'll either die before you complete your mission or you'll be easy prey for Falcone! Please Bruce, come to your senses."

There was something in the Englishman's eyes that Batman had never seen before. Sadness? Fear? Grief? Despair? Whatever it was, he could see that his father-figure was really afraid for him.

"I don't want you to kill yourself like this...please, understand where I'm coming from. Don't go Master Bruce, we'll find a safer way to cure you." Alfred pleaded.

"I appreciate your concerns Alfred." the masked man replied, "I vowed to my parents that I wouldn't go down like they did as well. But I can promise you, I will not die tonight. Not to Copperhead's poison or to Falcone. I know what I'm doing and I know what will make Falcone willing to comply should he spot me."

"You do?" the butler gasped, "But Master Wayne, these criminal types can't be reasoned with! Remember what happened to your parents? They tried reasoning with the killer and..."

"I know." Batman retorted, trying not to let the painful memories come back to him, "But you forget Alfred, Falcone owes me a favour for what my father did for him many years ago. I can get him to repay that favour this very night."

Alfred then suddenly realized that his master wasn't as crazy as he seemed. Yes...he remembered all too well those words that Carmine Falcone himself had said to Bruce as the Wayne's funeral. He now understood what he was planning.

"I think I get your plan now, should Falcone see you..." the butler murmured.

"Good." Batman said, briefly smiling, "Don't worry about me Alfred. I'll come back, cured and with some extra Malzone for next time I face Copperhead. I promise."

"I trust you to keep that promise master. Good luck out there..."

Alfred stepped aside from the Batmobile, allowing his master to leave. Batman nodded, bidding farewell without a word, and he started up the Batmobile. The engine roared into life and the car accelerated off the platform and down the ramp that lead to the tunnel exit. Alfred could only watch as Batman left the cave once again, heading out into the dangerous world of night time Gotham. Tonight would mark the night he had gone up against two of the Big Three. Alfred could only pray against all odds that he would survive this night and live to take the Big Three out...

* * *

A little while later, Batman had arrived at his destination. It had been a struggle to keep himself from passing out as the poison began to slowly build and affect him more. His vision had become hazy but he had forced himself to keep awake. Luckily for him, the Batmobile had autopilot so if it became too dangerous for him to drive, he would just activate the autopilot and let the Batmobile's own computer drive for him. But he was now here, close to Falcone's penthouse, and closer to his cure.

Batman had seen Falcone's penthouse many, many times, both in and out of costume. He had memorized the appearance of this grandiose building and the way there that he could walk from Wayne Manor to the place blindfolded. He had planned to infiltrate the place to find evidence he could use to bring Falcone down once and for all. If he wasn't dying right now, he would gladly search the place and see if he could prove that Hans Teller's death was in fact, not a suicide but a murder orchestrated by The Roman himself and made to look like one. But first things first, he had to focus on the task at hand.

Get the cure, focus on Falcone another night, don't get distracted.

Batman staggered towards the penthouse, trying his best not to collapse. He feared that once he fell down, he wouldn't get back up again. He couldn't fail now, he was nearly there. As he approached the penthouse, he was quick to notice that the wealthy establishment was crawling with security guards. None of them were slouching around either, not even taking a cigarette break. They were on the alert, machine guns in their hands and ready for use. Carmine Falcone had the best of everything, including security. Batman hid behind a nearby parked car and observed his surroundings, looking for a way past the guards. He maybe close to death but he still couldn't rush in without a plan, he'd just be killing himself quicker than the poison already was.

But then Batman started to feel uneasy. His head was swimming, no doubt an effect of the neurotoxin. He shook his head, trying to fight off the effects. But then something else began to happen. As Batman opened his eyes again, he saw...Alfred, standing right in front of him! The vigilante stared incredulously. How could Alfred be here?! He was back at the cave! But yet here he was, standing there and looking very disappointed with him.

"A...Alfred...?" Batman whispered, unable to believe his eyes.

 _I don't see why you keep up this masquerade Master Bruce._ Alfred said grimly _You'll never make a difference to Gotham City. Gotham is beyond saving and you know it. Even your parents knew that when they were killed. You're fighting a battle you cannot win Bruce. Just give up and join your parents in death..._

"N-no...I can't...Alfred, I promised them..." Batman protested, still keeping his voice down so he wouldn't attract attention.

 _You made a promise you cannot keep Bruce. Just break it and let the merciful Angels of Death come for you._ Alfred replied.

Batman was almost tempted to cry out in anguish, let out all his frustration and sadness and satisfy Alfred. Don't hold it back anymore, just let them go already! Alfred will approve! But then Batman closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain that suddenly swarmed through his head and he looked up...only to see Alfred had disappeared. It was just as he had expected, Alfred was never really there at all. It was another side-effect from Copperhead's poison, it was causing him to hallucinate. Now he had to get the Malzone before his hallucinations clouded everything.

His mind now focused again, Batman looked around to see if he could get past security without attracting attention. That was when he saw it, a nearby manhole. No doubt that if he opened that and crept down into the sewers, he'd find a way up into the penthouse. The manhole was shrouded in shadows too, meaning nobody would see him. Batman crept towards the manhole and opened it up, being as quiet as possible. He descended down into the sewers that lay underneath, closing the manhole behind him so nobody would get suspicious. He slowly climbed down the ladder, making sure not to lose his footing. The ladder was rusty and the sewer tunnel he now found himself in was filled with smells so revolting that any normal person would be tempted to throw up.

As Batman reached the bottom, his knees suddenly gave way and he collapsed onto the ground. The poison was effecting him more and more as he went on. He could feel himself slowly decomposing. He was feeling very weak and he had to force himself as hard as possible to get back up again. As he stood up though, he saw a horrifying sight. Copperhead was there, standing before him with a wicked smile on her face and her toxic claws bared! Batman flinched, taken aback by the sight of the snakehead leader.

"Copperhead!" he blustered.

 **"Yes senior, I am here once more..."** Copperhead hissed gleefully, " **I wanted to watch you succumb to the effects of my toxin! Oh it gives me so much glee to watch you falling apart El Batman! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"**

"No...you're not here...you're a hallucination!" Batman grunted, massaging his temples, "Your toxin...is making me see things..."

 **"That is what happens to any bastardo that gets a taste of my poison senior!""** Copperhead crowed, " **They see their deepest and darkest fears come true, a truly sadistic end to their pathetic lives as I get to find out the worst of my victims before they perish!"**

Then she strode towards Batman, her claws tapping together as if she was preparing to strike. She came so close that she could practically whisper in his ear.

 **"Give in to the neurotoxin Batman...Usted va a hacer su muerte menos dolorosa si lo hace."** the snake-like woman purred.

Her last sentence had been "You'll make your death less painful if you do" in Spanish. Batman was almost tempted to cede to Copperhead's demand. Just give in, let the toxin kill him, it'd make his death less painful and silence his suffering. Don't fight it, give into it and put an end to it all! No...don't even go there! Not now, not while there's so much at stake! Batman let out a yell that unleashed all his anger and pain. Let it all out, don't let Copperhead win!

He took a swipe at the poisonous female...and just as he had expected, she disappeared into nothing. He had hallucinated again, Copperhead's toxin was beginning to toy with him and break his mind apart piece by piece. He couldn't let the toxin tear him apart, he couldn't let Copperhead win!

"Focus...focus..." Batman told himself, "You can do this...beat the poison..."

He forced himself to carry on, walking through the sewer tunnels with the terrible stench of waste in the air. The smell made him feel worse but he could manage, he'd been trained to deal with bad smells. He was in luck for as he walked, he could see another ladder nearby. He didn't have far to walk, just as he'd hoped. He headed towards the ladder and climbed up it. Would this grate above take him inside the penthouse? If so, would it be where all the drugs were kept? Then another terrifying thought dawned on him. What if Falcone didn't have any Malzone anymore? What if he'd sold it all to make a profit? If that was the case then hopefully, Carmine had the primary drug he'd need to make his own Malzone back at the Batcave.

Gritting his teeth, Batman reached the top of the ladder and pushed up on the grate above. What a pain in the rear it would be if it was locked or something! But as expected, the grate opened. Batman made sure he opened it slowly and quietly so he wouldn't catch any attention. He had no idea if there was going to be anybody in the room or not. As Batman pushed aside the grate, he slowly looked up. The room was devoid of any guards but what he saw was just the thing he wanted to see. He had found it, Falcone's entire drug stash! There were crates upon crates containing all sorts of harmful, illegal substances such as cocaine, marijuana, heroin and more. Batman even saw a crate containing steroids, presumably to sell to people who wanted to cheat at sports. There was enough merchandise here to put the entire Falcone family behind bars!

Batman made a mental note to start photographing everything and send off the images to the police as proof that Falcone wasn't what he appeared. First, the Malzone. He crawled up from the ladder and put the grate back over so there wasn't a gaping hole he could accidentally fall through. He then searched around the room, eyeing the labels on all of the crates to see which one contained his cure. Each crate had a different name, indicating what it contained. Batman guessed that Falcone loved to keep things tidy and organized, which made sense when it came to selling these things off. If they were labelled, they could easily be found and categorized for the operations ahead. Then Batman saw the one crate he wanted more than anything. There was a blue crate nearby with the word "Malzone" tattooed across the lid in red stencil font. Of course Falcone had some of this stuff! He could make a fortune just selling it to anybody who desired it! At least Malzone wasn't illegal unlike most of the other stuff Carmine had possession of.

Batman staggered over to the crate, feeling very tired but still having enough strength in him to see himself cured. He opened the crate and was rewarded with the sight of hundreds of bottles all containing the miracle drug he desired. Malzone was a medicine that was meant to be injected into the patient so Batman pulled out of his utility belt a medical tool that could inject medicines, serums and similair things into his bloodstream. It had a glass tube on top to contain what he wished to inject in himself. Batman grabbed a bottle of Malzone, unscrewed the lid and turned it upside down, filling the glass tube on his tool to the top with Malzone. He was then about to inject himself with the antidote but things suddenly took a turn for the worst.

The door to this secret room opened up and in walked Alberto Falcone! He had been tasked with fetching his father some steroids to prepare for sale tomorrow night and had come down to get some. To his complete horror and surprise, he saw Batman standing in front of a crate of Malzone. His eyes widened and he nearly fell over in surprise. Batman cursed himself mentally. Looks like this won't be as easy as he had been hoping it would after all.

"Holy fucking shit!" Alberto exclaimed, "Guards, guards, get your sorry asses in here now! Batman's..."

Alberto had no idea what happened next. The most he remembered before passing out was that something hit him and knocking him flying off his feet and into a wall nearby. Due to his weakened state, Batman hadn't been able to subdue Alberto quick enough to silence him, thus the guards had heard his cry of help and were now stampeding towards the storage room, guns in hand and fingers curled around the triggers. Batman put the medical tool back on his utility belt. He would inject himself with the Malzone later, he couldn't spare a minute to pump it into himself. The first guard he came up against saw Alberto unconscious on the floor and scooped him up, intending to move him to safety so he wouldn't get hurt. The rest of his comrades stormed into the room to take down Batman.

They aimed their guns but didn't dare fire in case they accidentally hit the drug stashes. They had Batman right in their sights and moved in for the kill. Batman was about to fight but then suddenly, the hallucinations kicked in again and he saw not a bunch of armed guards, but a horde of Copperheads all coming towards him. It was like something straight out of a nightmare, only worse. They all cackled in unison as they closed in like a bunch of snakes about to strike their prey.

 **"The end is coming for you payaso! Ha, ha, ha! You cannot defeat all of us!"** the "Copperheads" all cackled.

Batman didn't try to fight the hallucinations this time. They would instead motivate him more to fight and guarantee his chances of surviving. He lashed out at the first Copperhead, landing a well-thrown punch directly between the eyes. The punch threw the first "Copperhead" off her feet and crashing into a nearby wall. It seemed that the terror of having to fight several Copperheads at once was bringing new strength to Batman. His punch had been a lot harder than he'd anticipated it would. The second "Copperhead" swung her gun at Batman, aiming for the head, but Batman managed to dodge and sock the hallucination in the jaw. It was then that the hallucinations began to fade for the guards transformed back into their old selves. The guard that had been hit in the jaw recovered and socked Batman in the gut. The suit cushioned the blow so Batman recovered from it quickly and grabbed the man's shoulders, driving his knee straight into his groin. The man's eyes bulged as total pain swept over him and brought him down onto his knees.

Although Batman was doing well, he knew that this battle wasn't going to last much longer. He would succumb to the effects of the poison and leave himself vulnerable for attack. He had to finish this fight off and quickly. As he panted, trying to regain his breath, one of the guards sneaked up behind him and slammed his knee into his back. This sent the dark-suited crime fighter stumbling forwards, straight into another guard. The guard rammed his gun into Batman's stomach, causing him to double over. He raised it again, ready to slam it down onto his back and knock him down onto the floor. But then Batman raised his arm and slammed the spikes on his arm gauntlet down onto the guard's thigh. This attack was so painful that the guard crumpled, clutching his leg in agony. Batman then swiped the gun right from out of his hands, almost dislocating his trigger finger, and slammed the weapon on his head, knocking him out instantly. Another guard ran forward and landed a powerful punch directly into Batman's face, almost knocking him over. Batman kept his balance and instead swung the machine gun like a club into the guard's head, knocking him down onto his side. The guard's head was spinning, wondering what had hit him.

Batman then punched the guard in the back of his neck, winding him and causing him to pass out. Batman panted once more, feeling out of breath. The neurotoxin was deeply effecting his stamina. Did he have time to put the antidote in his bloodstream now? No, there were still three more guards to deal with and they were aiming their guns at him. He actually heard them cocking as the guards primed them, ready for use. They were going to shoot him down regardless of if any of the merchandise around got damaged too. If Falcone asked any questions, they'd just say that they had no choice and that they tried their best not to hit any of the drugs as well. But before anybody could shoot, Batman threw a smoke bomb at their feet, covering the room in grey smoke and leaving the guards coughing and spluttering as they tried to see through it. They were completely blinded, unable to see a thing.

The three guards kept their guns ready, waiting to shoot if they saw anything so much as move. One guard could feel the sweat trickling down his head as he waited for his target to become visible. Then suddenly, a pair of gloved hands closed around his mouth, preventing him from crying out and the hands didn't let him go until he finally passed out from the lack of air he could get into his lungs. His body crumpled as he slipped into unconsciousness. The other two hadn't heard him. They were still looking around for Batman. But they weren't conscious for much long for the same gloved hands lashed out, grabbed their heads and slammed them together, knocking them both out and leaving them to collapse in a heap on the floor. The smoke began to clear, far too late for anybody to see Batman and do anything about him now. Batman fell down onto one knee, coughing and spluttering as he tried to regain his breath. He then got a nasty shock as when he coughed, drops of blood came out of his mouth. The toxin was getting worse, he had to take the cure now regardless of if he was under attack or not!

Grunting, he pulled out the syringe tool and tried to steady himself as he prepared to inject the Malzone into himself. His hand trembled as the syringe was aimed at his arm. Then Batman stabbed down with the tool and squeezed on the trigger. The Malzone drained out from the glass tube and into his body. The masked man could actually feel it coursing through his veins, fighting off the poison and restoring his health. It wouldn't act quickly though so Batman had to get away before anything else happened. First of all, he needed to take some spare bottles for in case he ever needed anymore Malzone. He walked over to the crate, still feeling wobbly as the antidote was taking effect, and he helped himself to a few bottles. They would last him a while and be useful for next time he ever came across Copperhead. He would even take a bottle with him so he could immediately use it if Copperhead ever poisoned him again.

"Turn around and face me Batman!"

The gruff voice accompanied by an Italian/American accent came so suddenly that Batman nearly dropped the bottles in alarm. He turned around to see who it was that had yelled at him. That was when he got the surprise of his life. Standing in the doorway, a semi-automatic pistol in his hand and death in his eyes...was Carmine Falcone himself. He wasn't alone though, he had a couple of guards right behind him for back-up. He had heard the scuffle that had been going on and had come to see what was happening. To his disgust, it was Batman himself but at the same time, he was delighted. Now he could finish off Batman and put an end to his meddling! The gun was aimed squarely between Batman's eyes. He wouldn't stand a chance if Carmine fired now. The Roman had a rather dirty smile on his aged face.

"Well, well, well...Batman, we meet at last." he crooned, sounding more amused than annoyed, "I often pictured what you looked like. Now here you are, stealing from me and beating up my own guards. I believe you even knocked out my own son. You've cause us a great inconvenience, a most unacceptable act against me and my family freak...so sorry as I maybe, I cannot let you live."

His hand tightened on the pistol. It was clear he knew how to use it and would take Batman out with one simple twitch of his finger. Batman didn't move.

"I maybe no saint Batman but I do like to be fair, even to my own enemies." Falcone went on, "So I'll allow you to give me any last words you may have before you die."

"Do you know Thomas Wayne Falcone?" Batman asked, his tone completely flat and stoic, no signs of fear in it anywhere.

The mob boss stiffened, taken aback by the question. He hadn't expected anything like this from Batman.

"Thomas Wayne..." he murmured, "Yes, I know him. He saved my life once...I owed him a favour in return but he was killed...so I ended up owing that favour to his son, Bruce. You're not the one who killed Thomas and Martha are you...?" he asked suspiciously.

"Do I look like a man with a gun?" Batman retorted, disgusted to hear Falcone even _suspecting_ him of doing such a thing, "No, I had nothing to do with their deaths. I've just heard of the Waynes that's all. Bruce was just attacked by a woman named Copperhead earlier tonight and he needs Malzone to cure him of a neurotoxin that Copperhead injected into him. I offered to save him and came here to get some Malzone to cure Bruce."

"You could've just asked instead of stealing..." Falcone snorted.

"Falcone, if you kill me now, then you'll be condemning Bruce Wayne to his death." Batman added, ignoring Falcone's remark, "If you let me leave now, I can cure Bruce and thus, you'll have repaid your debt. You wouldn't want to shame the man who saved your life by letting his son die, would you?"

The Italian-American crime lord fell silent as he pondered on the question. On the one hand, he would gladly kill Batman if it meant stopping him from interfering with his business. On the other hand, he could finally repay his debt to Bruce. He couldn't repay Thomas for his generosity but he didn't have to lose the chance to repay Bruce in his father's name. Falcone was a criminal, but he was an honourable one and never one to be unfair to people that didn't deserve any cruelty. His mind now made up, Carmine lowered the gun.

"Take the Malzone and get outta here." he snapped, "Tell Bruce that it's the least I can do for him in return for what his father did to me. My dept is now repaid. But Batman, I'll give you one warning. I don't EVER want to see you in my home again!" the crime boss snarled, "If I ever see you here again, I won't be so generous."

"I expected nothing less from you." Batman retorted.

Now he was safe to leave, Batman strode over to the grate in the floor, opened it up and climbed down into the sewers with the bottles of Malzone in his utility belt. Falcone watched him leave before turning to his guards. They didn't look pleased with what had just happened.

"You let him go boss!" one of them cried feebly.

"Why'd ya do dat?!" the other guard exclaimed.

"To repay a debt I owed..." Falcone murmured, putting the pistol away and leaving the room...

* * *

Meanwhile at Sionis Manor, the mask wearing crime boss was admiring some of the weapons that the cops in his pocket had managed to smuggle out of GCPD and into his hands. Officer Balent had been leading the delivery team and had been delighted to present the weapons to him.

Black Mask marvelled at the crates full of state-of-the-art rifles, machine guns, pistols and even grenades. Rupert Thorne seriously thought he could've gotten all this and yet thanks to Batman, he now had some of it all for himself! Black Mask primed one of the rifles, enjoying the feel of it in his hands. His eyes were filled with satanic glee.

"These rifles are top of their class boys." Sionis crowed, "The best of the best, ya ain't ever gonna see any rifle better than these babies here! We sure as heck got lucky to have these things falling into our hands! I dunno how that wimp Thorne managed ta get these, and from a snakehead gang no less, but we oughta thank him for this...with a thousand bullets slamming into his head!" he cried loudly, laughing crazily.

"We're sorry we couldn't get all of it though boss." Officer Balent said, sounding almost guilty, "The weapons weren't all contained in one area and we couldn't risk Loeb getting suspicious."

"Such a damn pity that Falcone owns the biggest name of the GCPD..." Black Mask sighed, "But that pathetic excuse for a cop won't save Falcone now! With state-of-the-art weapons such as these and soon to be more weapons coming our way...heh, heh...we'll be able to tear that stupid family apart!"

"And then you will run all of Gotham!" cried another officer.

"That I will Officer Kirby." Black Mask gloated, "And ta think Batman's unwillingly played right into our hands too..."

"Indeed." Officer Kirby nodded, "Balent blabbed about Thorne's operations to which Batman then stopped and then the police seized all these weapons the snakeheads sent him...and now most of what was confiscated is in your hands!"

"The bastard thinks he's doing Gotham a favour by beating up some cronies and putting them behind bars. He's not helping a damn bit!" the white-suited industrialist sneered, "He's just makin' things better for me, and he hasn't a damn idea about it! Boy is Batman gonna feel like one sorry son of a bitch when he finds out he's benefiting me right now!"

He took a moment to laugh maniacally. The laughter combined with his skull mask made him look like a true demon from hell, an absolute crazed lunatic right out of a mental asylum. Although they worked for him, the officers couldn't help but feel a little afraid of their boss. He was clearly mad, but he paid well so they couldn't really complain. Once Black Mask stopped laughing, he pointed at his men.

"Get back to GCPD and continue doing whatever ya do!" he barked, "We don't want anybody gettin' suspicious ya know."

"Yes sir." Officer Balent nodded.

The officers all turned and walked away, leaving their boss alone for the night. Black Mask looked back down at the rifle in his hands and then over to the crates that contained all the other terrible weapons he now owned. What a find this was! And once he stormed in and took out Thorne and Falcone, he'd get the rest of the goods just to aggrandize himself and make himself the most unstoppable crime boss in all of Gotham City!

"My time's coming...I can feel it..." Black Mask crowed, "Soon Gotham will be mine and the city will be my own empire ta rule like the king I am of my boys! And my parents seriously thought I would never amount ta anything either!"

His eyes narrowed, full of hatred as his parents crossed his mind.

"They were wrong...dead wrong in fact!" Black Mask crowed, "I'll be the biggest name Gotham's ever heard! Nobody will remember my folk or Thorne or Falcone when I'm done! But everyone will remember the name of Roman Sionis...!"

* * *

 _ **Batman is cured! But his fight against crime continues. Black Mask has big plans and it's very likely Copperhead will come for Batman once she learns he's still alive.**_

 _ **Will Batman take down The Big Three? And is his war against crime about to get even bigger? Tune in next time as we "Feed the Croc"...**_


	5. Episode 4: Feed the Croc

_Episode 4: Feed the Croc_

Gotham City was plagued by crime. The sewers that ran underneath the city were plagued with something even worse.

Underneath the feet of everybody who lived in the city were a huge network of sewage tunnels that snaked all through the underground, containing all the stink and waste of humanity. It was as if a whole new world had been constructed underneath Gotham though it was a very uninviting one. The tunnels were dark and dingy with decay and ugly moss growing all around the brickwork and the stench was enough to make somebody ill for a week, maybe two weeks. A disgusting river of waste and water flowed through the tunnels, carrying the rancid smell for miles around. It was so bad in these tunnels that people considered working there an act of suicide. Spend one day in the Gotham Sewage System, or GSS, and you were guaranteed to come down with something, that was something all the sewage workers said about the place. But if you wanted to make a living, you had do what you could just to get paid, even if it meant working in the GSS.

There was one man working in one of the tunnels now. He wasn't alone because he was the only one working there, he was alone because he was the last man working his shift before quitting time. He was lean, fair-haired and middle-aged and he absolutely hated his job. He longed to get better work somewhere else in the city in the future. He was wearing a protective suit to protect him from the horrible smell and the filthy waters he constantly had to trudge through. He looked like he was about to walk through a nuclear warzone. The man waded through the filthy water towards a nearby light that was flickering on and off constantly as if teasing the man with the possibility of going out and leaving him in darkness. The sewage system had many lights so that the people who worked in them didn't have to work in the dark. He just had to fix this one light and he was done for the night. The sewage worker approached the light and unscrewed the light bulb. Once he was done, he screwed in the new one. The light now flashed, no longer flickering and almost dazzling the worker. He turned away from the light and sighed contently.

"That's done, now to get outta this shit-hole and back home." he muttered, "I hope my wife can put up with me smelling like crap until I can find a better line of work..."

Keen to get out, the sewage worker started wading through the water once again, hurrying this time so he could get out already. But as he went on his way, he heard, or thought he heard, a strange noise echoing through the tunnels. Was it his imagination or had he just heard somebody...growling? He shook his head, dismissing it as nothing.

"Great, now I'm hearing things." the worker sighed, "The smell must be getting to me. I really oughta get outta this job before it kills me!"

He quickened his pace, sloshing through the water quickly so he could get to the ladder that would take him up and out of the wretched tunnels and into the sweet fresh air up above. But as he nosily made his way across, he heard the growling sound again. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight. It was much louder, though given the echos, he wasn't entirely sure if he was really close to the thing growling or if it was far away. The man had heard all the myths about the sewer world, particularly the whole "crocodiles and alligators" myth. Were the myths in fact true and he was near a crocodile right now? He looked around nervously, wondering what to expect.

"I-I-is someone h-here?" the man asked, his voice wobbly, "I-if this is some stupid prank, it's not funny! Show yourself before you get in trouble!"

He soon quickly found out that HE was the one in trouble, not his growling stalker. Something very big and monstrous suddenly erupted from under the water and towered over the man, scaring him half to death. He was fixed to the spot, paralyzed by pure terror as he took in what he was now faced with. It looked like an over-sized, over-developed man, about 8-9 feet in height, but at the same time, he looked crocodilian in appearance. He was some freakish hybrid of the two, having the anatomy and muscle structure of a man but the scales, sharp teeth and claws of a crocodile. He only wore a pair of red trousers that were so ragged they seemed to be falling apart around his legs. He had fearsome red eyes and bony lumps on his head and back. He glowered down at his prey, saliva stretching between his teeth as he opened his mouth.

 **"I'm so hungry!"** the beast growled, **"You'll go down a treat scrawny little man! Yes, I'll feast on your bones!"**

The man wanted to run away but his legs wouldn't obey him. He was completely petrified, unable to move as if his brain and body were disconnected from each other and refused to cooperate. The crocodile man lashed out with a huge, scaly hand and seized the unfortunate man, dragging him down into the water and silencing his screams as they echoed through the dimly-lit tunnels...

* * *

The next morning, the news about the sewage worker's disappearance was already in the news. And of course, Bruce Wayne was one of the first people in Gotham City to be reading such a headline. Being as rich as he was, he was always going to get the news before most people did. He had seen the story on the Gotham News in his limo as Alfred drove him to work. The story had been presented by Jack Ryder and he seemed awfully pleased that he was telling this story and not one of his rivals like Vicki Vale and Summer Gleeson. Bruce had taken in the story, wondering how a man could just disappear like that, and in a sewer no less. The story had reported that witnesses had heard a scream, thus prompting an investigation that had told them the man was gone. Had he been murdered? Kidnapped? Had he stumbled and drowned in the sewers? He would investigate matters as Batman when night fell again.

For now he was at lunch and talking with a childhood friend of his. The two men were in a restaurant that was so fancy that it didn't seem real. The second man was handsome with neat black hair and a grey suit and tie. He looked like a fashion model but was in fact, a man of political nature. He had recently been elected District Attorney and he was named Harvey Dent. Harvey and Bruce had been friends since their days at school. Both of them had grown up with a silver spoon in their mouths, raised by wealthy parents and surrounded by wealth. Harvey had had problems growing up but looking at him now, his handsome smiling face and his cheerful appearance, he didn't look like a man who had had it rough as a kid. He looked like the world never bothered him, even on his worse days. It made Bruce feel good to see Harvey looking so cheerful today, it certainly made him feel better considering the grim news this morning.

Harvey was delicately sipping some French wine while Bruce was having a glass of non-alcoholic wine as they waited for their meals to arrive. In order to stay in shape for his role as Batman, Bruce never drunk the alcoholic stuff. To Harvey, he would always say that he preferred the taste of the non-alcoholic wines. Dent put his glass back down on the table, positioning it perfectly next to his napkin. He seemed to be a very tidy man, especially when he ate.

"You know Bruce, it's great that the two of us can have a moment like this together." Harvey said brightly, "We can just take a break from the world and reminisce on old times together, like old friends."

"I concur." Bruce replied, "It feels like it's been forever since we last saw each other Harv."

"And to think it was only a couple of months." Dent chuckled, "Now my election campaign's over, we can catch up like we are now."

"What's it like being District Attorney?" Wayne asked politely.

"It's a big thing that's for sure." the politician murmured, "My nerves were tingling for much of my campaign. But with a position like this, I feel I could potentially make a difference in this city. Gotham's politicians seem so self-centered and wrapped up in their own affairs that they scarcely seem to care what the public wants."

"That's the sad thing about the political life." the billionaire CEO nodded, "They talk a lot, do very little and then wonder why the public hates them."

"Sad but true." Harvey sighed, "That Rupert Thorne's the worst of them all. He seems to think that everybody should do what he says, including the mayor."

"And the worst part is that Thorne is very influential so it's hard to say no to him." Bruce said grimly, "Speaking of Thorne...do you think he's possibly one of the Big Three?"

Harvey paused for a moment, staring down into his wine glass as if wondering if he could find the answer inside the beverage.

"He certainly is a shifty guy." he admitted, "Not sure if that classifies him as a criminal though but hey, in this crazy city, you can never tell who's a criminal and who isn't anymore. Heck, even the cops seem to be morally ambiguous. Remember the death of Hans Teller they mentioned a few days back? They say it was a suicide but I've got my own suspicions..."

"You don't think it was a suicide?"

"Absolutely not. I've got a feeling the cops arranged that death, probably so he couldn't tell on his boss."

"That's not a bad theory. The cops do act suspicious, very suspicious at times..."

"I wonder if they work for the Big Three?"

"Possibly, but not all of them are dodgy. Commissioner Gordon seems decent."

Harvey nodded. He had met the Commissioner the other day and had decided that he was definitely a good cop. Nothing like the bad bunch that he suspected.

"Yeah, I met him not too long ago." Dent stated, "He told me that he feels as if some of the GCPD seems to be aiding and abetting these criminals rather than helping the people. From what he tells me, I can't say I blame him."

"What did he tell you?" Bruce asked, bringing his wine glass to his lips again.

"That it seems awfully convenient he and his men arrest Teller and then the next day, he's dead." the D.A. muttered, "This Commissioner Loeb guy in particular seems more interested in hunting down Batman then anything he tells me again, that already sounds strange. And then one night, the police seize weapons from a freighter speculated to be a delivery from the snakeheads and then suddenly the next night, the weapons are gone. If that doesn't prove this city is corrupt and full of dirty cops, I don't know what does."

Wayne nodded, sipping his wine. This piece of news troubled him deeply. He had stopped Thorne from getting those weapons the night before and now they somehow end up out of police custody. If the cops were indeed corrupt and working for each of the Big Three then he could've potentially aided them in some way. Roman or Carmine or even Rupert himself could be holding those weapons right now and planning a big shoot out! And it would be partially his fault for playing right into their hands! When he put on the Batsuit tonight, he would investigate the murder of the man in the sewers and then investigate Gotham's Police Force to see who their true allegiance was to. Now that he thought about the man in the sewers, he decided to bring it up to Harvey.

"Did you hear about that man who went missing in the sewers last night?" he asked.

Harvey sipped some more of his wine before putting his glass down.

"Yeah. How much must that suck for the poor guy?" he asked, "Disappearing in the sewers like this. I hope he's alive though it seems pretty unlikely at this point."

"With any luck, Jim and his men will investigate the situation when they can." Bruce said, "In the meantime, how's things with you and your family?" he asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Oh Gilda's the same as ever. I don't know what I'd be if I didn't have her." Harvey said brightly, "I'll be spending the night with her this evening. I'm due for a night off with her, she's really been waiting for one since my campaign ended."

"Do give her my regards Harvey." Bruce requested, smiling, "I've been hoping to see her again as I have with you."

"I'll tell her you said hi." Dent promised.

Any conversation that was still meant to go on was silenced as the waiter arrived with Harvey and Bruce's lunches. As the food was settled down, they picked up their cutlery and began tucking in. Unbeknownst to the two men though, somebody who was sitting close by had been eavesdropping on their conversation. It was a man, clean-shaven and tall but skinny, and wearing an old brown jacket. He had smiled widely, clearly liking the information that he had picked up from their chat. Now Bruce and Harvey were done talking, he stood up from his table and walked off to the toilets. He didn't actually need to go, he just needed somewhere private to make a phone call. Once he had walked into the men's room, he pulled out his phone and locked himself in a cubicle. Alone with nobody to watch him, he dialed a number and spoke into it.

"Hello, Thorne? It's Drury Walker. I got some info you might wanna hear..." the man whispered.

* * *

As night fell on Gotham once more, Harvey Dent returned home from a long but pleasant day at work and walked through the door. After lunch with Bruce Wayne had ended, he had gone through a lot of papers containing figures and numbers that made sense only to a politician such as he and letters from the public that were meant for the mayor or anybody of high political power to see. Most of them were complaints similair to what he had about Gotham City, it's run by politicians that seemed more bothered about what they thought and disregarding what anybody else demanded. Dent had always wondered what was the point of having a position of government if all you did was satisfy your own ego instead of trying to help anybody? Hopefully things would change now he was D.A. He would begin a campaign and spread hope all around Gotham to combat the corrupt nature the city seemed plagued by.

For now, he just wanted to be with his wife, Gilda Dent, who also liked to be called "Grace" on occasion. Harvey closed his door and loosened his tie. Peace at last he thought.

"Gilda my darling, your husband is home!" he called out.

To his surprise, he didn't receive any answer. Just total silence. That struck Harvey as odd. Gilda always responded when he called out to her. Was she already asleep? No, not at this time. It was only 9 o' clock. It wasn't that late so she had to still be awake. Shrugging, Harvey tried again.

"Gilda? I'm home! Where are you?" he asked.

Still no reply. What was going on?! Had Gilda gone somewhere for the evening and hadn't come home yet? That couldn't be it. She never went anywhere without telling Harvey! The D.A. began to scratch his head. This was getting creepy now, almost like a scene from a bad horror movie.

"Gilda, if you're trying to pull something on me, you're doing a good job at it!" Harvey called out, "Stop playing games Gilda and come out already!"

Then Dent saw something move in the corner of the room. He couldn't quite make anything out for it was dark and the hall was shrouded in shadows. But from what he could make out, he could see two shadows. Why two shadows? It was only him and Gilda who lived in this place, they didn't have anybody else. Then the shadows began to move closer to him. One of them seemed to be making muffled noises while the other was making no noise at all. Harvey gasped as the shadows came into the moonlight creeping through the windows, folding the shadows behind them. One of them was a brunette woman with emerald green eyes and wearing a silk dress. That was Gilda Dent. The other was a complete and utter freak with snake-like eyes, fangs and pale green skin. It also had long green claws dripping with poison. It was Copperhead! The snake-woman had a hand clamped around Gilda's mouth, preventing her from screaming. Harvey let out a cry of shock as he realized what was happening.

"GILDA!" he exclaimed.

"Hola Senior Dent!" Copperhead hissed, "You and me are going to have a little night out together..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Batman had suited up and was already out on patrol for the night. He hopped across the rooftops, keeping an eye out for any signs of danger. He was on his way to investigate the incident in the sewers and had decided to go there on foot so as not to attract any attention with the Batmobile. He was expecting police activity and could do without any of them poking in on his business. It was one of the only downsides to his job, the possibility of the police interfering with him when he was trying to do some good. Hopefully he would convince the police that he wasn't the enemy and get them to back down and accept him.

He jumped into the air and spread his cape out, gliding through the air as if in a parachute act. He landed perfectly on another building and ran towards the edge. He landed down perfectly and broke into another run. He had a feeling he was getting close to the sewer. The news had stated that the worker who had disappeared had been working down in a tunnel in Park Row. Batman was now entering Park Row. He could see the church and courthouse as he leapt onto another building. Many questions ran through his head as he landed and ran towards the edge again. Why had the worker disappeared? Who was responsible and why? Was he even alive? Batman vowed to find out even if it took him all night to do so. Then when that was done, he would dig into the CGPD and see if he can find out who was loyal to the law and who was breaking it.

But as he jumped through the air, the masked vigilante saw a terrible sight as he landed on another building. He saw quite possibly the worst person he could ever run into at this moment. Copperhead was back and was now standing by the edge of a building with what looked to be two people in her arms. Batman had expected to see Copperhead again, but not so soon after he had been cured thanks to Carmine Falcone's generosity in letting him keep the Malzone he'd stolen the night before. Batman had even brought some Malzone with him in case he needed it again. Maybe Copperhead was out for revenge against him! But who were the two people she had with her? He moved in closer so he could make them out better. The two people had their hands tied behind their backs and a gag around their mouths. They were struggling to break free but Copperhead had her arms around them, keeping them close to her.

"Copperhead." Batman growled, his voice not quite loud but still very menacing.

"Muchas gracias Batman! So glad you could make it tonight!" Copperhead cackled, "I have two people here who's lives depend on what choice you make..."

She motioned to her captives. Now Batman was closer, he could see clearly who they were. It was Harvey Dent and Gilda Dent! Of all the people Copperhead had to take hostage, why them?! Batman let out a gasp as Harvey and Gilda both struggled, their words muffled by their gags. Gilda seemed terrified whereas Harvey looked defiant and angered at what was happening. In order to make sure he didn't clue Harvey on who he really was, Batman made sure to choose his words very carefully. Last thing he wanted as Harvey to blurt out his name and tell Copperhead that he was Bruce Wayne.

"The Distract Attorney!" he cried, "Harvey Dent!"

"And his pretty little wife too!" Copperhead sneered, running her fingers through the terrified woman's hair, "Yes senior, I assumed you'd know who these two were. You see, Senior Thorne doesn't really like Harvey here so he's willing to pay me for his capture or death. He doesn't mind what I do. But he's willing to pay extra if I can kill you as well Batman! You angered me when you somehow managed to find a cure for my toxin and saved yourself! And you got it from one of Thorne's enemies, Senior Falcone, no less!"

"If it's me you want then you can let Harvey and his wife go!" Batman demanded, "They have nothing to do with us, they're innocent in all of this. Let them go and take me Copperhead!"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! How bold, El Batman wishes to bargain with me!" the snakehead leader crowed, "I will do the bargaining around here masked man. I will not set the Dents free. But you will stand down and surrender yourself to me...otherwise the D.A. and his wife will come down with a very nasty illness..."

She held her claws right under their chins, threatening to cut their throats and infect them with her neurotoxin. Batman was hesitant to cede to Copperhead but he knew that he couldn't just let Harvey and Gilda die. He had lost his parents many years ago, he couldn't lose one of his best friends too. He could see Harvey and Gilda's frightened faces staring at them, pleading for him to help them. Batman looked down in defeat. He had to give in or his friend and his wife were going to join his parents in the afterlife.

"You've got me Copperhead." the vigilante said grimly, "You can let the Dents go. I'm yours now."

"Just what I like to hear Batman..." Copperhead hissed, "You're just like any other weakling I've encountered. Once the victim has some bastardo they care about, they're easily broken when their comrade is in peril! Come to me Batman!" the snake woman commanded, lowering her hands away from Harvey and Gilda's necks, "You will come to me and allow me to poison you. You will not resist, you will not cure yourself. If you do, I will kill the hostages. Comprende?"

Batman nodded. What Copperhead didn't know was that he had slipped his hand behind his back and had pulled out a Batarang from his utility belt. He was holding it now, completely out of Copperhead's sight so she couldn't see. With her claws lowered, he didn't have the risk of Copperhead injuring the Dents when he threw it at her. Batman started to approach Copperhead, slowly and steadily. Once he was close enough, he would throw the Batarang at her face and knock her down. She would be incapacitated and the Dents would be safe.

Unfortunately for Batman, Harvey didn't know that he had a plan and had immediately assumed that he was giving himself up. So in order to save himself and Batman, he decided to take action. Harvey had noticed that Copperhead didn't wear shoes, a big mistake on her part, so he raised one of this feet and stomped down on the snake-woman's foot. Copperhead let out a shrill, blood-curdling screech of pain that seemed to tear through the night sky. Batman was taken aback by this quickly reacted by throwing the Batarang at Copperhead. The bat-shaped weapon hit the crime boss in-between the eyes and sent her tumbling backwards off the building. Unfortunately, her claws had snagged onto Harvey Dent's jacket so she pulled him down with her. Gilda let out a muffled scream as her husband disappeared over the edge with Copperhead. Batman used a Batarang to cut her free and then leapt over the building to save Harvey, but not before telling Gilda "Get outta here now!" as he leapt over. Gilda ran for her life, intending to call the police to help her husband.

As she left, Copperhead and Harvey both landed down on the ground just by a manhole. It was open and had some "Police Line Do Not Cross" banners around it. Batman landed down just in front of them, relieved to see that Harvey didn't seem hurt, nor did it appear he'd been poisoned. Copperhead's claws hadn't penetrated his skin when they'd snagged onto his jacket. The D.A. sat up, still trying to free his hands but he didn't get onto his feet before Copperhead did. Once she was up, she grabbed onto him and held him tightly against herself. Harvey struggled, trying to get free but to no avail. However his struggling had caused him and Copperhead to start shifting towards the open manhole. Batman saw this and shot forward to try and catch them before they could fall in.

"Watch out Harvey!" he cried.

Too late. Harvey gave one last tug that caused he and Copperhead to tumble towards the manhole. They both fell straight down it and into the sewers below with a splash. Batman jumped down into the sewers after them, praying that Harvey was alright again. The fall had caused the gag to fall off from around Dent's mouth but he was still tied up and now he was completely drenched and filthy from the sewage water. He coughed and spat, hoping he hadn't got any of it into his mouth. Copperhead stood up and was about to claw Harvey across the back but Batman jumped in and socked her in the face. The punch was so hard that Copperhead ended up spitting out blood and a tooth into the water. She growled menacingly, baring her claws. Dirty water streaked down her body.

"Enough of this foolishness bastardo!" she snarled, "We're ending this conflict here and now payaso! Come to your death El Batman!"

"I hope you have an ice pack for the many bruises I'm about to give you..." the crime fighter growled in response.

But as the two prepared to have a showdown, a fearsome roar echoed through the tunnels, stopping everybody in their tracks. Batman and Copperhead froze, their senses instantly alert while Harvey looked around, worried.

"Um...I'm not the only one who heard that am I?" he asked.

"I have a feeling we're not alone." Batman said cautiously, looking around for any signs of where the roar had come from.

A tense silence followed his words, adding an air of unease to the already unpleasant atmosphere around them. Then the water seemed to leap up as something emerged from underneath, letting out an ear-splitting roar of glee as the three stared incredulously at what had come up. It was the crocodile man from last night and he seemed to be delighted at what he was seeing. He flashed his sharp teeth in a hideous smile as Harvey screamed and Batman and Copperhead stared in horror at the abomination before them.

 **"Aaah, so many bones for me to feast on!"** the beast roared excitedly.

"EN EL NOMBRE DE DIOS ES QUE?!*" Copperhead shrieked.

"And I thought the whole "crocodiles in the sewer" thing was a myth!" Harvey exclaimed.

"It's not a crocodile...it's half croc, half man!" Batman blurted. He'd seen many weird things in his life, but nothing as weird as this.

 **"You may call me Killer Croc scrawny meat-bags!"** the croc-man growled, **"Though you won't live long enough to call me anything!"**

His voice was unlike anything Batman had ever heard before. It sounded more like an animal than a human voice. What on Earth had created this monster?! Was he even real for that matter? Batman wasn't sure he wanted to find out. Killer Croc bared his teeth as he swiped at him with a huge, scaly hand. Batman tried to dodge but the shock he'd received from seeing this abomination of a man had slowed his reflexes. By the time he'd reacted, Killer Croc had hit him in the legs with his hand and sent him spiraling through the air and into the water. Copperhead snapped out of her shock and pounced on the crocodile man, claws bared and eager to inject her poison into him. But then the snake woman received an even bigger shock. Her claws slashed against Killer Croc's skin...but no cuts were left! The tips of her claws had broken straight off in the impact! Copperhead gasped in horror as Killer Croc laughed tauntingly at her.

 **"You seriously expected your little fingernails to harm me?!"** he sneered, swatting her aside like a fly. She didn't move again once she'd landed face down in the water.

Harvey Dent had climbed up onto his feet and was about to run away but Croc lashed out and grabbed him, hoisting him up as if he weighed nothing in his hands. Batman picked himself up and ran towards the beast, afraid for Harvey. Croc spotted him and pounced onto him, Harvey still in hand. All that Batman could remember was a giant scaly hand closing around his face and dunking him down underwater. Then...nothing else as everything went dark around him...

* * *

Batman came to a while later. Whether it had been a little while or a long while, he had no idea. The first thing he was aware of was that he was still in the sewers, though this was a more secluded area. There were three brick walls and a barred gate, making it look like a prison cell. There was a chunk of concrete that acted as land for anybody in this part and a gap between the gate and land that seemed to suggest how one was expected to get in and out of it, by swimming under the gate.

The smell was as horrible as ever. It was so bad that Batman wondered if he'd pass out again. But there was another scent that filled the air around him. It wasn't sewage waste that he could smell this time. It was something much more sinister. Something like...rotting flesh. As Batman opened his eyes, he looked around wondering where that meaty smell was coming from. He also noticed that he couldn't move his arms. His hands had been tied to a hook dangling from the ceiling above his head. He also wasn't alone. Copperhead and Harvey were here too, strung up by their wrists like he was. Copperhead was already struggling, rocking back and forth to try and get herself free whilst Harvey looked uncertain on what to do. His face was very white, gripped by pure fear and his suit was grimy and stained horribly by the sewage. Batman could see why Harvey looked so scared and disturbed for he had just realized what that rotting flesh smell was. The room was littered with bloody corpses that had once been people. Some of the bodies were completely stripped clean of any flesh, leaving only bones though none of the skeletons were complete. They were all missing pieces from rib bones to thigh bones and even whole hands. Some of the corpses even had skulls that were missing chunks that made them whole. Some corpses still had some flesh left, though very little.

Batman had a feeling he now knew what had happened to that man who disappeared in the sewers last night. He had been devoured by Killer Croc and one of those bodies was likely his remains. What a horrible way to die! And soon he, Harvey and Copperhead would be next, the three of them strung up like pigs in a slaughterhouse. And Killer Croc was going to be the butcher doing the killing if they didn't escape! Batman begin struggling in his binds, hoping to get free. He wasn't going to meet his end with this monster of a man!

"B-Batman? W-what's going on? Why have we been taken here?" Harvey asked worriedly.

"No doubt we're here as Killer Croc's dinner." Batman muttered, "Though why are we still alive? Why didn't he just eat us while we were unconscious? And where is he?"

"Those questions are meaningless Batman." Copperhead growled, "That pendejo is mistaken if he thinks these ties will hold me!" she declared, tugging on her hands, "There isn't a binding out there that can hold me, I am impossible to tie down!"

"If that's the case you're doing a very good job on not escaping." Batman retorted, noticing the snake-woman's lack of progress in getting free.

"Shut up you muchacho idiota!" Copperhead snapped, "I'm an escape artist yes but even I can't get away that quickly! But when I get free, that maldito croc-man will be sorry he did this to me!"

"I'm not sure if I'd rather be stuck with you or that crocodile guy right now!" Harvey exclaimed, unable to contain his fear.

"Keep a hold of yourself Harvey!" Batman cried, trying to reassure the D.A., "Keep calm, don't let fear take control of you. We'll get out of here, but we must remain calm, all of us."

Harvey nodded, agreeing with what his rescuer was saying. Fear never got anybody anywhere. Copperhead didn't seem in the mood for taking advice though, still struggling hard and trying to get free. Batman ignored her and focused on Harvey.

"I also happen to be good at escaping." he said, "I'll get us outta here Harvey and we'll get you back to your wife. I promise."

"Well you tried saving my ass from that bitch next to me so I don't see why I shouldn't doubt you now." Harvey murmured, "Considering that I pretty much got us into this mess in the first place, you're probably the one to get us out."

"I am." the vigilante nodded, "Now hang tight..."

Before he could say anything else though, the trio were met with the one person they did not want to see right now. The water rippled just outside the gate, suggesting that something was coming. And that something was Killer Croc! He swam under the gate and resurfaced on the other side, climbing out of the putrid waters and striding towards his captives. Batman and Copperhead did their best to show no fear while Harvey made no attempt to mask his own terror whatsoever. Killer Croc hissed, a twisted smile curling on his scaly face.

 **"Now I know the sewers are void of any intruders, I can feast for the night!"** he growled delightedly, **"Now which one to dine on first? You all look like you'll be satisfying meals to me!"**

Batman decided to try something out. It wasn't something he usually did but he figured maybe he could reason with Killer Croc, maybe convince him to let them go. It was risky but worth a shot.

"Croc, why do you eat people?" he asked, "Aren't you human yourself?"

That question seemed to make Killer Croc angry for his eyes narrowed into a vicious scowl that made him look more dangerous then he already did. Harvey shook nervously, expecting him to attack.

 **"Human? HUMAN?!"** Killer Croc roared, **"You ask if I'm human?! You're just like all the other meat-bags I come across! You all assume that I'm some monster because I don't look like you!"**

"I wasn't trying to offend you Croc." Batman insisted, "I assumed you were human, I never once doubted that you was. But...your skin, your teeth...how did you become like this?"

Killer Croc gritted his teeth and sniffed loudly, clearly angered by the question. But he answered anyway.

 **"I've told my story to many people bat guy, person, whatever. And they all react the same way, with revolution and no sense of sympathy or empathy for me!"** Killer Croc snarled, **"What you see is the result of a rare skin condition that causes me to look like a freak! A human crocodile! Everybody treats me like I'm a monster, EVERYBODY! They talk about what it means to be human and that the true meaning of humanity is to be accepting of all people, never to judge by one's appearance! And what do they do to me?! They treat me like an animal, something to be chained and locked up! THEY'RE THE TRUE MONSTERS, ALL OF HUMANITY!"** he bellowed, his voice angry but also sounding sad at the same time.

He was clearly troubled by his past experiences and Batman could see that Killer Croc wasn't just some monster after all. He even began to feel sorry for the poor man. Discriminated and mistreated by society just because he looked like a freak. Freaks have feelings too, something that humanity sadly seemed to forget half the time. Nobody had any right to treat Croc this way. Batman wondered if he could reach out to his tortured side and open him up, make him see the light.

"I'm very sorry you've been treated this way Croc." he said, "But you must trust me when I tell you this: not all of humanity is like this. Not all of mankind is racist or judgmental. Not everybody is a monster! I for example value all life, even the criminal life, and I'm not one to judge by how you look. If you keep going around eating people like this Croc, you're just proving society right that you are a monster! Don't turn into the monster that society says you are!"

"Oh do shut up idiota! You'll never reach out to this heathen!" Copperhead snapped angrily.

 **"If mankind wants to treat me like a monster, then I shall be the monster!"** Killer Croc bellowed, **"I'll never be accepted in their world, I'm just Waylon Jones, the lizard man, the crocodile person, the circus freak who deserves to be locked in a cage and treated like an animal! There is no place for me but the sewers Batman, and my sewers shall be your grave!"**

He lumbered towards Batman, ready to sink his teeth into the costumed crime fighter and devour him alive. But then...he stopped. He just looked down at Batman as if trying to work him out and then used one of his claws to cut him free. Batman dropped down, surprised that Croc had done so. What was he up to? Had Batman appealed to his inner humanity after all? Croc flashed another toothy grin at his captive.

 **"However...you're the first man I've met who feels sorry for me..."** he murmured, **"That already makes you better than the other scum I've devoured. You deserve a sporting chance for your sympathy. You will challenge me to a battle masked man. Beat me, and you get to go free along with the other two. If you lose...well, you know what will happen next..."**

"So you're wagering a duel of honour to determine our fates? I accept." Batman replied, "Can't refuse a good offer like that."

"Batman, you can't possibly stop this guy!" Harvey exclaimed, "Look how huge he is! He'll snap you in two!"

Batman ignored Harvey's concerned cries and instead stared straight ahead at Killer Croc. The beast had shown he had some level of humanity left in him by giving him the chance to walk out alive, something that had both surprised and satisfied him. Maybe after he'd won, he'd be able to further convince Killer Croc that he didn't have to be a monster. It'd make one less killer that was terrorizing Gotham.

For a moment, there was silence as the two combatants weighed each other up. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of running water. Both bat and crocodile men stared each other down, waiting for the right moment to attack. While Croc just saw Batman as easy prey, Batman was observing his opponent and looking for any possible weak spots that he could use to his advantage. He had been trained to do so in his quest to stop crime, exploit an enemy's weakness in anyway possible should he find one. He noticed that Croc had very tough skin. Diseased or not, he knew it would be hard to penetrate. The eyes would be a soft-spot but he wasn't guaranteed to hit them all the time. He could try and see if he could find any soft spots on Croc's body, areas that weren't as tough as others. All he knew was that he was in for one big battle.

Killer Croc let out a thunderous bellow that almost seemed to make the ceiling shudder and he charged towards Batman. How predictable, such a basic manoeuvre for a muscle-man like him. Batman was out of the way before Croc even came close, leaving him to thunder straight past him and into the wall. The impact didn't seem to hurt Killer Croc much but the wall had been cracked by the slam. Now Batman had something else to worry about. The room was unstable and could collapse if Killer Croc got too careless! He had to make sure he didn't crash into any walls if he wanted to keep the room standing. He whipped out a Batarang and threw it straight at Killer Croc's back. That wasn't meant to hurt him, but make him turn around so he could hit a more sensitive area. Killer Croc turned around in retaliation, his teeth clenched together, and Batman threw another Batarang at him. The bat-shaped weapon hit him between the eyes, making the beast cry out in pain. Batman then seized his chance and ran towards him while he was stunned. He jumped up and kicked Croc in the chest, sending him staggering back and then he kicked out at one of his knees, bringing him down onto the other. As Croc knelt down, Batman began whaling down on him as much as he could, unleashing a rapid round of fisticuffs in hopes of bringing down his scaly opponent.

But Killer Croc wasn't effected much by the punches. They barely seemed to faze him even. Batman noticed this and didn't once slow down his assault. The more he kept at it, the quicker Croc would be subdued. But then the crocodilian man got back up onto his feet and swiped a huge hand at Batman. He hit him so hard that he whisked him off his feet and sent him flying into the barred gate nearby. Batman hit it so hard that the gate was nearly knocked over and out of its sockets. Cracks formed around where the bolts were holding the gate. Batman picked himself up, still taken aback by the powerful blow. He had expected Killer Croc to hurt him badly if he hit him but he hadn't expected a blow THAT hard. Then the beastly creature lumbered towards his prey, hands open and jaws open wide. He grabbed Batman by the shoulders and banged him against the gate, causing the bars to bend under the strain and more cracks to form around where it was being held. Croc pinned Batman against the gate, hissing with glee as he prepared to close his mouth around Batman's head and bite his head off. Batman grabbed his jaws before they could reach him and he used all his strength in keeping them open.

Croc fought hard to close his jaws, pushing hard against Batman's hands. The muscles in his neck and jaws flexed and strained along with the muscles in Batman's arms as both opponents though to overpower each other. Harvey held his breath for a tense moment while Copperhead watched, fixated by what was happening. A part of her wanted Batman to lose but another wanted him to win. Better to face him then Croc. Batman grunted from the effort, pushing hard against Killer Croc's jaws. He could feel his muscles aching in protest. He had to find a way out of this or he was dead! Then Batman knew what he had to do. He took one of his hands away from Croc's face and jabbed a finger straight into his eye. The resulting jab was so hard that Croc flinched and let go of him, clutching his eye in agony. He roared his disapproval and he punched at the gate to vent out his anger. The gate broke free from its bolts and landed in the water with a splash. Batman moved around behind Killer Croc and threw a Batarang at the back of his head. The weapon did no harm and Killer Croc picked up the broken gate, not even straining as he lifted it. He held it above his head, preparing to slam it down on Batman.

 **"You're good, but you're no match for me Batman!"** he thundered.

Killer Croc swung the gate down on Batman...only to miss as he positioned himself in a way that meant he was where a gap between the bars was. This caused Croc to slam the gate down but not on top of Batman. Batman then threw an uppercut to the chin on Killer Croc, knocking him backwards and then Batman picked up the gate, straining slightly. He swung it down on Killer Croc, slamming one of the bars right on his head. Then he swung it down again, getting it stuck around Killer Croc's neck as his head passed through between the bars. Croc growled in anger and tried to break the steel bars off so the heavy gate wouldn't slow him down. While he was distracted, Batman quickly tossed a Batarang at Harvey Dent's hook, cutting the chin in two and freeing his hands. He was about to do the same for Copperhead but he noticed she had already gotten herself free. She had been sliding her claws against the binds back and forth repeatedly until she cut through them. Maybe she would be willing to put up a truce for now and help him beat Croc.

"Harvey, get outta here quickly!" Batman ordered, "Copperhead, help me take down Killer Croc!"

"Good luck with that you two!" Dent cried as he ran past Killer Croc.

"I'm glad you asked senior..." Copperhead hissed, "I have a score to settle with this reptilian freak!"

Batman could only scowl at Copperhead's hypocrisy. As if she was in any position to label Killer Croc this way! As Harvey ran for his life, Killer Croc broke the gate from around his neck and roared menacingly, angered that he had been cheated out of one of his meals like this. At least he could dine on the other two to make up for it.

 **"YOU'RE AS BAD AS ALL THE OTHER VERMIN I'VE ENCOUNTERED!"** Killer Croc bellowed, **"CHEATING AT A DUEL OF HONOUR, HOW INHUMANE OF YOU! I WILL EAT YOU ALIVE BATMAN!"**

He picked up the bars of the gate and swung them at the two opponents he was now up against. Batman and Copperhead both dodged the attacks and Copperhead leapt forward, her claws bared. She landed on his arm and began slashing against it with her claws. Although she couldn't penetrate his skin, she decided to try repeatedly hacking against him. Maybe she could get through his skin if she kept it up. Killer Croc snarled viciously and uppercut the snake-woman into the wall. Copperhead hit it so hard that she ended up adding some new cracks to the wall to join the ones Killer Croc had made already. She grunted but refused to back down, picking herself up and pouncing on Croc again. She contorted her body so she almost seemed to wrap around Croc like a Boa Constrictor. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and she tightened her grip, making Croc flail about madly as he tried to get her off.

"Do something, DO IT NOW!" she screeched at Batman.

Batman didn't hesitate for one moment. He aimed his grappling gun at Killer Croc and fired at him. The claw and cable shot out from the handheld device and grabbed hold of Killer Croc's face. Copperhead jumped away from the crocodile man as Batman tugged on the grappling gun. This pulled Croc aside and slammed him into the floor. Croc picked himself up again but then Batman tugged on the cable again, careening Croc to the right. But that proved to be a big mistake for Batman had pulled too hard, causing Croc to crash into the wall. The same wall that had been cracked by two slams against it already. The cracks began to expand to the point that dust was beginning to sprinkle down from the ceiling. Killer Croc roared in anger and picked up one of the nearby skeletons that had once been a victim of his. He charged towards his two opponents, walloping Batman and Copperhead with the bones and knocking them down on the ground. He then grabbed another skeleton and slammed it down right on top of Batman covering him with fragments of bones. Copperhead climbed up onto her feet and grabbed a thigh bone. She began using it as a club, swinging it repeatedly into Killer Croc's head and walloping him. Killer Croc growled as he swiped at her, knocking the bone out of her hand. He lunged forwards, about to take a bite out of her but before he could get close, Batman grabbed a bone and shoved it into Killer Croc's mouth in a vertical position, forcing his mouth open.

Croc pushed down on his jaws, trying to break the bone in two. Copperhead saw her chance and began clawing at him repeatedly, doing it to his stomach rather than his arm this time. The skin on his stomach, like an actual crocodile, was a little softer than it was everywhere else so she was able to leave some superficial cuts on him. Croc cried out in pain, wincing with every slash that Copperhead inflicted on him. He grabbed the bone in his mouth and pulled it out, freeing his jaws and then slammed his fist down on Copperhead's head, knocking the crime boss down flat on her stomach. He then slammed the bone in his hand down on Copperhead's arm. The strength of his slam combined with his tough skin and the knobbly clump at the end of the bone caused Copperhead's arm to break. The snake-woman screamed in agony, clutching her arm which now had a chunk of bone protruding through her skin. Her arm was utterly useless now, leaving her to fight one handed. Killer Croc laughed and swatted her down onto her side just as she stood up. He was about to kill her and came very close as he bore over her and opened his jaws. As he neared her, Batman ran in and threw a Batarang straight at Killer Croc's eye. The sharp tool hit him, leaving a nasty scar across his eye and causing him to cry out in anger.

Then while he was in pain, Batman threw a smoke bomb at Killer Croc. Copperhead stood up and ran for it just as the smoke bomb hit the croc-man. Killer Croc was then shrouded in clouds of smoke, blinding him and giving Batman and Copperhead the perfect chance to escape. They both ran for it, leaving Killer Croc to flail around blindly as the smoke clouded his vision. He ended up crashing against the wall several times, thinking that he was hitting Batman or Copperhead. His powerful swipes tore bricks and mortar out of the wall, scattering them all over and weakening the walls that were holding everything up. The cracks expanded, reaching the ceiling and causing it to start crumbling down. The smoke began to clear and Killer Croc noticed that Batman and Copperhead were getting away. Clawing at the wall in rage, he roared as he chased after them.

 **"I WILL CHASE YOU BOTH DOWN, CATCH YOU BOTH AND THEN FEAST ON YOUR BONES!"** he bellowed, storming after them angrily.

But then Croc realized that he was making a big mistake. He had caused a lot of damage to the walls and the ceiling and now his stampeding was making the room shudder, weakening the tunnel even more and causing it to cave in! A terrible noise boomed through the cavern as the cieling and walls began to fall apart. Batman and Copperhead heard the falling bricks and rubble and quickened their pace, eager to escape both Croc and the crumbling tunnel. Croc chased after them, not caring that his lair was falling apart around him. Bricks crumbled down and rubble showered down, splashing into the water and threatening to crush anybody underneath them. Killer Croc was hit by most of the rubble but he refused to let it slow him down. He wasn't going down without taking Batman and Copperhead with him! He leapt towards the two, hurling through the air like a cannonball and he was very close to catching them. He was just a fraction too far to successfully snag them though. He landed down in the water and just as he got back up, he was bombarded from above by the falling rubble. He tried to fight it and keep going but he was soon weighed down by the falling debris. He let out one final desperate roar as he was weighed down by the rubble and disappeared under the water.

Batman and Copperhead had exited the tunnel, finding themselves now in the main tunnel at the centre of the entre GSS, and they turned around to look at what had happened. All they saw was a pile of rubble, bricks and stones. Killer Croc couldn't possibly have survived that, could he? If the pile-up hadn't killed him then he would surely drown under the water. Nevertheless, he wouldn't be after them for a while now. Panting, Copperhead looked back at Batman, still clutching her broken arm.

"Well...looks like we won El Batman." she said.

"Yes. We have." Batman replied stoically, "Though I didn't want it to end this way. A guy ridiculed and made into a monster by the demons that tormented him doesn't deserve such a harsh death."

"He tried to kill us you muchacho estupido! He was gonna eat us alive and you actually think he doesn't deserve this?!" Copperhead screeched, "You're one crazy man Batman!"

"He's only a monster because society treated him that way. He could've been helped." Batman retorted, "He didn't need to die."

"Whatever..." Copperhead sighed, "I must leave now. I'm in no position to fight given my broken arm..." he muttered, glaring at her arm as if blaming it for the fact she had to give up, "We shall meet again Batman. But next time, there won't be a crocodile man to interfere with anything!"

"Indeed." Batman muttered, "But you're not going anywhere. I'm taking you in Copperhead and you can rest and recuperate in a cell."

"Oh don't waste your time with me Batman! You wouldn't want to abandon Harvey Dent down here and leave him lost would you?" the snake-woman sneered.

Batman then suddenly remembered. He'd told Harvey Dent to flee but that didn't mean the D.A. would find his way out of the sewers! Copperhead was right, he couldn't just arrest her and leave him down here alone. He'd never find his way out otherwise. Glaring at Copperhead grimly, he nodded.

"Good point. I'll let you go this once, but never again." he declared, "Consider it a thank you for helping me take down Killer Croc."

"Don't mention it pendejo..." Copperhead crowed as she turned to leave.

Batman watched as Copperhead waded through the waters, leaving him alone to find Harvey and get him home safely. He turned and ran through the tunnels in search of the district attorney. What a night this had been! Fighting Copperhead, saving his best friend and coming face to face with a man who looked like a human-crocodile because of a bad skin condition! This was definitely one of his most eventful nights so far and he had a feeling this night would be topped in terms of events and scale.

After a few minutes of searching, Batman came across Harvey Dent in another tunnel. He had been looking for a way out and had gotten lost so he was relieved to see that Batman had now found him. He ran up to him quickly.

"Batman! Are you alright? Where's Copperhead? Where's Croc?" he asked curiously.

"Croc's dead...or at least he's going to be. Copperhead got away." Batman murmured, "But I'm alright. You're safe now Harvey."

"Thank goodness..." Dent sighed, "I think I've had enough excitement for one night. Wait until the press hears about this! They'll be amazed at what I've just survived and brand you as a hero Batman! Gotham's got that ray of hope it needs to combat the fear that the criminals inflict upon us at last!"

"I doubt they'll believe you..." Batman said grimly, "Well, the croc-man part they won't believe. Just say that I saved you from Copperhead and a thug in a crocodile costume, that sounds more believable."

"Good idea." Harvey said, "For now, I just want to get back to my wife...and take a bath or two." he added, cringing at how smelly he was.

"I'll take you there, just in case anyone tries to take a shot at you again." Batman offered.

"Thanks." the D.A. said, "You know...as beastly as Killer Croc was...you can't really blame him can ya?" he asked, "I can imagine how horrible it must be to be treated like an animal because of what you look like."

"I sympathize with him, more than you realize. And I don't usually sympathize with the criminals I beat up." the costumed crime-fighter said stoically, "Croc deserved better and could've gotten better if he hadn't been killed."

Dent nodded, understanding completely why Batman felt this way. He had a heavy hatred of prejudice and wanted Gotham to be free of it. The Killer Croc incident just gave him more of a reason to hate prejudice and more of a cause to combat it. He would start a campaign to fight against hatred and discrimination as soon as possible. With nothing more to say or do, Batman and Harvey Dent walked off into the tunnels, Dent following Batman so he could get them out and into the fresh air again.

But as they were leaving, they were completely unaware that the pile of debris that had seemingly crushed Killer Croc...incredulously, impossibly...began to move...

* * *

 ***Translation: What in God's name is that?!**

* * *

 ** _Talk about a hectic night for Batman! Fighting Copperhead and meeting a new foe in Killer Croc! I doubt he'll get much of a break from this though..._**

 ** _Tune in next time as Batman finds himself in a situation where he ends up saving somebody who is much, much "Too Young To Die"..._**


	6. Episode 5: Too Young To Die

_Episode 5: Too Young To Die_

The moment the moon rises and darkness falls, the creatures of the night come out to play.

That was the kind of philosophy that Batman felt perfectly suited Gotham City. It seemed almost drastic on how much the city changed once daytime left and the world was bathed in darkness for the night. The city was relatively calm and civil during the day but come nightfall, the worst of humanity seemed to run wild and free until morning. Batman often wondered what was it about Gotham at night that seemed to have that effect on people. Was it something that couldn't be explained? Was it something that could be explained but at the same time be hard to understand? Or was this the case for any city and not just Gotham? Batman could answer many questions but this one was one he felt even his powerful brain couldn't supply an answer for. He swung through the air and landed on a rooftop, barely making a sound as he touched down. He was getting better at his nightly patrols. He was pleased with how quietly he was now able to land when in the air. Nobody would see him coming, no matter how good their hearing might be.

So far, things seemed pretty quiet, one thing that Batman felt was very out of the ordinary for Gotham City. The city wasn't able to survive five minutes without some kind of crime being committed. Then again, every cop had his slower days so the Gotham vigilante began to wonder if this was going to be one of those nights for him. Maybe there wouldn't be much crime to stop tonight and he'd be able to go to bed, content with the knowledge that everything was OK for tonight. Regardless, he was still on the alert. In his line of duty, you could never lower your guard, not even for a second. After narrowly surviving his terrifying encounter with Killer Croc a few days ago, Batman was well aware that anything could happen.

He approached the edge of the building, sweeping his keen eyes over everything he could see. The moon was the only thing providing light in this era of the huge metropolis. He was standing just above Crime Alley, the very place that his parents had been shot down in. Crime Alley was often shrouded in darkness with very little light to go around. Even the street seemed reluctant to brighten the place up. Batman looked away as the terrible memories began flooding through his head again. His parents, the killer, the gun, the single shots that struck them down, their bloodied corpses...his anguished screams. He was well into his twenties and yet Batman still felt as if this terror had only happened to him yesterday. Would he ever be able to leave it behind? Could he leave it? He doubted he ever would, but it still gave him the energy and motivation to carry out his cause. No child would ever have to suffer what he'd been through while he was roaming the night. Ever.

That was when Batman suddenly realized his night was going to be more eventful than he thought. He heard a high-pitched scream cutting through the silence and he turned around, looking for where the sound had come from. He pressed against the side of his masked head and switched on the cowl's detective feature. His eyes glowed a brilliant blue and the world world turned blue to him as he tried to track down what was happening. The buildings all looked transparent to him so it'd be easier to pinpoint where anybody was. That was when he saw it. On the other side of an old house that remained from Gotham's old times, he could see the skeleton of what looked to be a little person running for his or her life. It turned a corner and started running quickly towards the building that he was now standing on. He could register the person's heartbeat, the cowl telling him straight away that the person was terrified. The vigilante didn't take long to figure out why. He could see that three more skeletons were running after the person, all of them armed with machine guns and gaining on the fleeing victim. They appeared to be shooting too, no words clearly audible to him but their voices loud enough to be heard from where he was standing.

Batman switched the detective mode off so he could properly see the people he was looking at. His jaw dropped as he saw what the little person looked like. He could make it out well enough in the dim light to see that it was a child. A little girl to be exact. The girl looked barely older than seven and was wearing a thick pink coat that looked more suited for winter than a cool autumn night such as this. She also wore black trousers and chunky walking boots and had black hair that just reached down to the back of her neck. The men that were chasing her were thick-set and all sprouting ugly stubbles that made them look more like hulking gorillas than humans. Their faces were hardcore scowls of anger that made them look even less human than their appearances did. Batman recognized the type. Hulking, always angry and completely devoted to a cause no matter how sick and twisted. What they were doing chasing down an innocent child?! Whatever the reason, the masked man wasn't going to let such a young life by sensely wasted tonight.

He watched as the girl tripped up and landed flat on her face, grunting from the impact as she tried to scrabble back to her feet. The men caught up to her and pointed their guns at the child, forcing her to stay down. The girl whimpered, tears coming to her eyes as terror gripped her by the throat. She was very frightened. One of the men lowered his gun and stood over the child, his hideous face curling into a smirk that somehow managed to make him look even more ugly.

"Got ya little girly..." he purred, "Thought youse could run away from us did yas?"

"I-I-I w-want my d-daddy!" the girl whimpered, bursting into tears.

"And we'll give ya back to him sweetheart." the man sneered, "All youse have ta do is tell us where yer dad's secret stash is kept and we will give ya back to him.

"I-I-I don't kn-know w-what you're talking about!" the girl sobbed, "I d-d-don't know a-anything about a secret stash! D-daddy never keeps s-secrets from me!"

"Alright, let's make this clear you little brat..." the second man, this one more muscular than the first and sprouting teeth that were horribly stained with nicotine, "You don't play stupid with us! We know your dad's very wealthy and we know that he keeps his stash of treasures somewhere! You're the only family he has so you must know where it is and if you don't tell us, we're gonna fuck you up real bad!"

He jammed the muzzle of his gun into the girl's cheek to emphasize his point, making her cry even harder.

"Now tell us what we wanna know, or we blow your fucking head off!" the man snarled.

The girl could only sob uncontrollably, unable to speak anymore. The third man, who was more slender than his colleagues and had no eyebrows, suddenly looked up and his eyes widened in horror as he saw something detach itself from the shadows and come hurling down towards him. He let out a high-pitched scream that sounded odd coming out of him before he was suddenly knocked down onto the ground by a huge black shape. The other two men spun around in disbelief, wondering what was happening before the shape suddenly sprang up and socked them both in the face. They were sent staggering away by the attack, their heads spinning for a moment. The first man recovered and watched as the second man was grabbed by the thing and wrestled to the ground. He knew exactly what the black shape was and raised his gun.

"MOTHERFUCKER, IT'S DA GODDAMN BATMAN!" he shrieked, "SHOOT HIM! SHOOT TA KILL!"

He opened fire, his machine gun rattling like mad as he sprayed a hundred bullets out at the Gotham vigilante. Batman was already moving out of the way before the man had even had chance to open fire. His colleague, the man with the nicotine stained teeth, was stricken by accident. Bloody holes stitched themselves across his chest and shoulders as the first man accidentally shot him to death. He crumpled and collapsed onto the ground, blood pouring out of his mouth and his dead eyes staring up at the moon as if trying to admire it one last time. The first man cried out, horrified at what he'd done and searched around for the masked man, keen to take his revenge. Where was he? Why did he have to blend into the darkness so easily?! Then he suddenly found himself being grabbed from behind and garroted as a hand clasped around his mouth and another hand squeezed against his throat. He couldn't breathe, his arms flailing around as he tried to get some air back into his lungs. His eyes closed and he passed out, his body crumpling as Batman lay him down on the ground. Two men were knocked out, one was dead. At least he had two people to interrogate later when they woke up. Now that was done, he could focus his attention on the girl.

He turned around and saw that the child was sitting up and staring at him with innocent, tear soaked, green eyes. He saw her face, so innocent and sweet looking. This girl was young, too young to die and far too young to be getting caught up in criminal business. How could such a young child have gotten caught up in this mess?! He could see himself in that poor girl now. Batman had been a child caught up in a crime and had lost his innocence that night. He wouldn't let this girl lose hers, not like this. He approached the child slowly, worried he might frighten her if he came too quickly. The girl tucked her knees up against her chest and stared up at him, her eyes full of fright. Out of nowhere, this big, shadow monster had just appeared and saved her life. She didn't know what to think.

"P-Please...d-don't hurt me!" she whimpered.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Batman answered, his voice soft and gentle. It wasn't often he got to show his softer side.

"Are you a monster?" the girl asked fearfully.

"No, no I'm not." the costumed crimefighter replied, "I'm human. This is just a costume. I'm only here to help you. You don't have to be frightened."

The girl nodded, taking this in with interest. She had heard stories about some man in a costume roaming the city at night. Was this him?

"Are...are you that Batman thingy people are talking about?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. I'm Batman." Batman replied, "I'm the guy who beats up criminals at night. I'm one of the good guys, you can trust me."

The girl smiled, getting to her feet and approaching Batman, her fear of him completely gone. She loved superheroes, especially the ones that were in comic books and this was a dream come true for her, a real superhero standing before her and saving her life!

"Thank you so much for saving my life Mr. Batman!" the child squeaked, "I was so scared! Those big mean men were gonna hurt me real bad! It was awful, it..."

"It's OK, you're safe now." Batman replied, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder to comfort her, "These men won't hurt you anymore. So what's your name, who's your father and why were those men after you?"

"My name's Lian Harper." the child replied, "My daddy is a man named Roy Harper and these mean men want me because they think he's got some secret stash somewhere. I don't know what they mean. My daddy doesn't keep secrets from me. It's like they think he's got buried treasure or something."

Batman took this in with interest. This was definitely not the usual cases he had. Some guys were after a girl because they thought her dad was hiding something? He had to find out what was going on.

"Why do they think your dad's got a secret stash of some kind?" he inquired.

"I don't know Batman. Maybe it's because daddy's a good friend of a guy named Oliver Queen." Lian mused, "Daddy tells me Oliver's very rich. He's got lots of money. Maybe they think daddy's got lots of money too."

Batman suddenly realized that he recognized that name. Oliver Queen! The CEO of Queen Industries! Wayne Enterprises had done many business trades with the company in the past. Bruce had even met the founder of the company, Robert Queen, when he was still a child. Thomas and Martha had taken him to meet him and his son, Oliver, about a year before their deaths. Robert Queen had lost his life in a tragic accident whilst on safari the next year. Bruce had sympathized with Oliver and had been glad to see him become the billionaire businessman he currently was. Now he could understand Lian's situation. If her father was a good friend of Queen's then of course some criminal would think he was wealthy too. Maybe Oliver had given Roy some money as a token of thanks. But Lian seemed to think her father never kept secrets. In that case, it wouldn't make sense for him to not tell her anything about it. He had to investigate.

"Where do you live?" Batman asked.

"In Star City. It's not far from Gotham." Lian answered, "We were staying here because daddy wanted to go to a party that was being hosted here."

"Where are you staying?"

In a hotel. Daddy rented one for us to stay in. It's somewhere back there I think."

That made Batman wonder if the child's father was indeed hiding something. Hotels in Gotham were ludicrously expensive. You couldn't just stay in one anytime you wanted. Roy Harper must have a decent amount of cash if he could afford to stay in a hotel here. And why was Lian by herself if Roy was at a party? Shouldn't she have a babysitter?

"Were you on your own in the hotel?" Batman asked.

"No, my dad had a nanny to look after me." Lian answered,.

"A nanny? What about your mom, is she there too?" the costumed hero wondered.

"Mom's not allowed to see me. Daddy says she's a bad person so she's not with us." the child answered glumly, "We were in our hotel room until my nanny asked me if we wanted to wave goodbye to dad. As he left, nanny took me back inside but then another car pulled up and those three men came out and demanded to see daddy. My nanny answered and then they started asking her where daddy's secret stash was. She wouldn't tell them so they got mad and attacked her. I got scared and ran for my life and...that's how I ended up here. They chased after me and then you came in and beat them up!"

Batman understood everything now. This poor girl had been chased out of a hotel she was staying in by a bunch of criminals and her nanny was either in their custody or dead now. They might have been hoping to take her hostage too. And all because they thought her father had a lot of money! It sickened him to see how people could carry out such senseless violence in front of an innocent little kid. He was determined to make sure that this child didn't have a horrible ending to her night. He would get to the bottom of this and find out who was behind all this and why they thought Roy Harper had a lot of riches. Batman picked up Lian, staring down into her innocent green eyes. There was something about those eyes that made him feel at ease.

"I'm gonna get you back to the hotel. Then we'll call your dad." Batman offered, "And we can see if your nanny is alright too."

"But what if more mean men come to get me?" Lian cried out fearfully, "I don't want them to hurt me!"

"I'll protect you." Batman promised, "If anyone tries to lay a hand on you, they'll answer to me. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

That seemed to make Lian feel more at ease. The black-haired girl gripped Batman's cape and held on tightly to him.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, "Thank you Batman! I know you'll keep me safe from nasty people like them!"

"Before we go anywhere though, I have to ask one of those men down there some questions." the masked man said, "You won't wanna watch...it'll get unpleasant."

He put Lian down and ushered her to take shelter so she wouldn't see what happened. Lian toddled over towards a nearby building and hid behind it, but not before turning around and seeing what Batman was now doing. The last thing she saw before turning away was Batman leaning over one of the unconscious men and shaking him roughly to wake him up. As she looked away, the young female heard some shouting, some coarse language coming from one of the men, more shouting, then a sickening cracking sound that made her jump, some screams of agony and then whimpers as the man seemed to tell Batman what he wanted to know. The last thing she heard was Batman telling the man "Thank you" and then a loud thump as the man was knocked out again. Lian turned around and saw Batman approaching her, his job now completed. He picked her up again and looked down at her, his face stoic.

"The man was kind enough to tell me who he works for." the Gotham crime fighter explained, "He also told me that we can expect more men when they realize what's happened."

"Who does he work for then?" Harper asked.

"Black Mask." Batman answered, "He's worse than those men that chased after you. If he comes to the hotel, I'll protect you from him too. But should anything happen, you MUST keep yourself hidden so you don't get hurt. Don't make yourself a target. Do you understand?"

Lian nodded, her face full of wonder and nervousness. She wasn't sure what to think anymore and whether tonight would end well for her. She held on tightly to Batman as the black-clad hero whipped out a remote device and pressed a button on it. It was a remote summon for the Batmobile, a handy device for if he ever needed the highly advanced car to come and find him. The Batmobile came roaring out of the shadows and zoomed towards its owner, screeching to a halt as it came near. The car stopped and the cockpit opened up for Batman to get inside. Lian stared at the car, amazed at the sight of it. It was unlike any car she'd ever seen before. Batman climbed in and put Lian down on the passenger seat behind him. He fastened her in and closed the cockpit.

"What hotel were you staying in?" he asked.

"I'm not sure Mr. Batman, but I think it was called "The Gotham Bride" or something. Daddy said it's the best hotel in the city."

Now Batman knew for a fact Roy Harper was hiding something from his daughter. An average man could NEVER afford to stay in a hotel as luxurious as The Gotham Bride! It was the most expensive hotel in the entire city! You had to be as rich as him to afford to stay in that place! He would question Roy himself on this should he get to meet him. For now, he pressed down on the acceleration pedal and zoomed off, heading towards the magnificent establishment so he could begin investigating. He was going to find out if Black Mask had every right to be after this man or not and make sure nobody ever targeted Lian again...

* * *

It didn't take long to reach the hotel. The Gotham Bride was located in Park Row and stood proudly amongst the other buildings in the district. It seemed to advertise itself, proudly showing off its grace and beauty and making any other building beside it look dreary and insignificant. The hotel was one of the most grandiose buildings in Gotham, its marble floors and stone columns proudly displayed on the inside and adding a sense of ancient beauty to what was mostly a modern establishment. The Gotham Bride looked almost inspired by ancient Greek architecture, even the logo itself had a Greek appearance to it thanks to the font that had been used when making it. This was the kind of hotel that people could only dream to be able to stay in. It cost thousands of dollars just to stay in one night, let alone a week or two. Batman knew that Roy was definitely not some average man with an average wealth. He had to be richer than he pretended to be. Batman parked the Batmobile around the back and picked Lian Harper up. He sneaked around to the front, making sure no one was watching, and let himself in through reception.

He wouldn't need to pay for there was nobody to ask him to do so. The receptionist had been shot dead, his pale corpse leaning back in his chair with a tell-tale bullet-hole in his head. He made sure that Lian didn't see, holding her close as he passed by. He then saw that there was somebody lying on the ground, bruised and bloodied and clearly having just been a victim of a terrible beating. It was a woman wearing a black dress, black leggings and black heels. The blood stained the marble floors and seemed to be coming from underneath her head, which was face down on the floor. Lian turned around and let out a scream of terror upon seeing the body. She recognized it straight away.

"Th-th-th-that's m-my nanny!" she screeched.

Batman put the girl down and knelt down by the body, feeling for a pulse. He felt none. He turned the head over and saw the one thing that told him everything. The poor woman was dead. The blood had come from a gruesome bullet wound just between her eyes. The killers had been merciless. How could they have done this to her?! He lowered the head down in disgust. He hoped Lian hadn't seen the wound. He picked her up again and carried her away from the dead woman.

"I'm afraid your nanny won't be taking care of you anymore..." he said grimly, his voice soft and mournful. A funeral voice, that's what it was.

Lian understood what he meant and began to cry into her hero's chest. The poor girl had loved her nanny and was devastated to hear that she was dead. She wailed loudly, her sobs like a knife through the vigilante's heart. He had hoped Lian wouldn't lose her innocence tonight. He had been too late. But he could still protect her and make sure she lived to see her dad again. He patted her back to comfort the grieving child.

"We can make sure your nanny's death wasn't in vain." Batman announced, "Tell me, which floor were you staying on?"

Lian wasn't able to stop crying but she was able to calm herself down enough to say the number of her room.

"O-O-One, f-f-four...t-two..." she sobbed.

Batman strode over to the lift and stabbed at a button with his finger. The lift doors opened and he let himself inside, waiting for the doors to close before choosing the button that would take him to the floor which had room 142. It was only up on the second floor so he didn't have long to travel. It was cheaper to afford a floor on the first to the tenth floors but all the floors above the tenth were much more expensive. Roy clearly still had his limits. The lift took the two straight up to the second floor and as soon as it arrived, Batman strode out through the doors and ran down the corridor to Room 142. He could see that the door had a slot that was meant for some kind of card. Only hotel guests were allowed in these rooms and had a card in order to get in and out. He had an idea on how he would get in.

"Do you have the card to your room?" he asked.

"Y-y-yes..." Lian sniveled, still crying over her nanny, "Daddy wanted me, him and nanny to have one each s-so w-we could get in w-when we need to."

She plunged her hand into her coat pocket and gave Batman the card. The costumed crime fighter inserted it into the slot and quickly took it out again, causing a green light to flicker. It had accepted the card and now he could open the door. He let himself into the room. This wasn't the best room in the hotel but still very elegant looking. The soft fur carpets, the huge bed with its crisp silk sheets, the tiled floors and even the fancy lights set in the ceiling. This was almost like walking into a prince's bedroom. Luckily, the room didn't look to have been disturbed. Nobody had been in here since Lian and her nanny had left. He put the child down and strode over to the bedside cupboard, where a telephone was perched. It was just what he needed. Lian toddled over to him, wiping her eyes as Batman picked up the phone.

"What's your father's number?" he asked, "He'll have given it to you in case of emergencies."

"He did. It's 000800-8643-5295." Lian recited, brushing away the last few tears that were lingering in her eyes.

Batman keyed in the number and waited for Roy Harper to answer. With any luck, he'd answer the call, believe him and come back to the hotel room. Then he and Lian could get out of Gotham while they still could before Black Mask came after them again. He'd also ask him some questions about his secret wealth that he was hiding from Lian. After all, Black Mask wouldn't go through all this trouble to attack a single father and his child if he had nothing of value...

* * *

Meanwhile, Black Mask himself had come out of his luxury home to take a look at what had happened to his men that he'd sent out to intercept the Harper family. The skull-faced crime boss wasn't at all pleased to have to come out in the open like this. He felt exposed, like he was putting himself in Batman's path. But he also had several bodyguards, including some of the officers on his payroll with him. He felt safe at least. Black Mask had all of his guards point their guns out in every direction. If anybody so much as walked towards him, they would shoot, no questions asked. That was how Black Mask operated.

He approached the sight of the three men that Batman had incapacitated earlier. He noticed that one of them was dead, the blood pouring out of his chest now beginning to dry and harden. Another was unconscious and seemed to have a broken arm. A piece of bone protruded through the flesh and skin of the man's arm, showing the crime boss that the poor man would need multiple surgeries to fix that. And finally there was the third man, who was beginning to come to. He wiped his eyes and stared up, horrified to see a skull-faced man in a white business suit standing over him. The moonlight shone down on Black Mask in a way that made him look like a nightmare come true. The man shook, terrified for his life.

"M-M-Mr. Sionis!" he cried, "B-b-boss, listen, I c-c-can explain everything..."

His response was a vicious backhand across the face that threw him down onto the ground, a trickle of blood snaking down the corner of his mouth from the hit.

"What did I tell ya Roderick?!" Black Mask snarled, "NEVER use my name out in the open like this! And don't bother explaining anything, I think I can guess what happened..."

Roderick stared up at his boss with fear in his eyes. He was expecting the axe to come down any moment now but to his surprise, it didn't seem like it was going to. Black Mask turned away from him and spoke to one of the officers.

"Take Kyle's body away. We can use it to paint Batman as a murderer and give you and your men more of an excuse to hunt him down." he ordered.

"Yes Black Mask." the officer replied, motioning for two men nearby to come over and help him.

The three men came forward and picked up the dead body of Kyle. He seemed like a dead weight in their arms for they picked him up with little effort, and Kyle wasn't a small man or even lightweight. As the dead man was carried away, Black Mask turned back over to Roderick. His hard, brown eyes seemed to fix themselves onto the frightened mercenary at his feet. They were the eyes of death as far as Roderick was concerned.

"If ya want me ta forgive you for this screw-up Roderick, you can get your ass over to that hotel and try again to get that girl." he hissed, "If her dad's back then that'll be even better. I want Roy Harper's fortune and when I don't get what I want...you know what happens..."

He then dug a hand into his breast pocket and pulled out a cigarette to emphasize his point. To anybody else, this would be seen as a harmless gesture. But to Black Mask's men, it meant a world of pain was coming for them. Roderick nodded frantically. He had seen his boss brutally torture his men for failing him, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of a Sionis Torture Session.

"Yes boss, sure thing boss!" the man blurted, "I'll get over there and grab that girl immediately! And I won't let the Batman stop me this time!"

"Ya better not..." Black Mask warned, putting the cigarette back into his breast pocket and turning away...

* * *

Back at the hotel, Batman's call had been accepted and Roy Harper had answered. He was taken aback at first to be hearing a voice that was nothing like his daughter's but he listened on as soon as the Gotham vigilante had identified himself. Roy had heard of Batman and was rather curious to hear what was going on. He had been shocked to hear that Lian's nanny had been murdered and that some criminals had been chasing after her. Batman could tell from the frantic tone of the father's voice that he was horrified and afraid for his little girl.

"Please tell me my little girl's alright!" Roy had exclaimed.

"She's safe Roy. I stopped the criminals that were after her." Batman answered, "We're in your hotel room right now. I'll stay with Lian until you get back. I won't let anybody harm her Roy."

"Thank god!" Harper cried, "Ya know, I know a guy who often joked about the idea of running into you one night Batman. Didn't think that'd be me!"

"Get back here as quickly as you can Roy. You and your daughter are being targeted by one of Gotham's Big Three and for your own safeties, you both need to leave the city at once." Batman ordered.

"I'm not one to argue with ya Batman." Roy replied, "Keep Lian safe for me while I get back! We'll get packed and get going as soon as possible! Man, why did I think a night over in Gotham City was a good idea?! I should've stayed in Star City..."

The caped crusader hung up, leaving the worried father to prepare to come home from the party. Now all he had to do was wait for Roy to arrive and then he and Lian could get out of Gotham and back to Star City as quickly as possible. They'd be much safer there for Star City had better control over its crime rate than Gotham did. Black Mask would find it harder to get his hands on the Harpers once they got back. But there was still a chance that somebody could attack at this delicate time so Batman knew that his mission was far from over.

He turned over to Lian, who was perched on the edge of the bed and hugging herself. He could scarcely imagine what was going through the poor girl's head. Criminals breaking in, killing her nanny and then trying to capture her and threaten to shoot her if she didn't comply was completely out of her league and Batman had no idea how Lian would cope with all this. Would she even get over it when all was said and done? Probably not. She'd likely be shaken to the core and scarcely able to forget this night. Batman sat down on the bed beside Lian and put an arm around her.

"Your dad's coming. Everything's going to be alright." he reassured, his voice soft and tender.

"I still can't believe they killed nan..." Lian said solemnly, "She was always a lot of fun when she looked after me. We often stayed up late, ate lots of candy and watched Disney movies until I fell asleep. Now she's gone...why did those horrible men have to do this?! Why are there such bad people out there Batman?"

She stared up at the costumed crime-fighter with her eyes wide and looking as if she was about to start crying again. Batman looked down at her, unsure how to answer such a question. He had been asking himself that ever since his parents had died. Why did the world have such horrible people indeed. Batman doubted even the most talented of psychologists could answer something like that. So how could he possibly answer that question to a little kid? He decided he'd give it a try, just to give Lian an answer.

"It's complicated." he began, "Some people are made that way and some are born that way. It's not easy to explain but..."

He suddenly froze as his sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching the door. They were coming from outside, making Batman leap up and listen. Was it Roy? He hadn't expected him to come back so quickly. But then he realized that there were sounds of multiple footsteps approaching. It couldn't be Roy. He would be alone. That made the masked man feel a twinge of doubt in his gut. He approached the door, holding up a hand.

"Lian, stay there." he said softly.

The frightened girl did as she was told, unwilling to move even an inch off the bed. Batman pressed himself against the door and listened out. He could hear the footsteps and a lot of raised voices. There were a lot of men together and they were shouting at each other. It was hard to make out all the words but Batman didn't need to hear what was being said. He had a feeling he knew what was going on. Black Mask had sent some more men to kidnap Lian, that had to be what was happening! He could hear some of them shouting.

"How will we get inside? We ain't got a card for the room!"

"Break the damn door down ya freaking moron! Dat girl can't hide from us in there!"

That made Batman smirk slightly. He could use this against the criminals and launch a surprise attack. He grabbed the handle of the door and prepared to open it. He could hear one of the men telling another to ram into the door on the count of three. He knew what to do. He pulled the handle down and waited for precisely the right moment.

"One...two...THREE!" yelled the man outside.

The moment the man said "three", Batman swung the door open, causing the man to charge straight into the room and fall flat on his face! He grunted as he hit the floor, his face aching like mad from the impact. Lian giggled hysterically, the whole scene looking like something from a funny cartoon to her. Before the man could get up and wonder what had happened, Batman suddenly seized him by the collar and threw him outside with all his strength, bowling down Roderick and the others as he crashed into them.

"Sorry, this room is already rented." Batman said grimly, "Try another one."

"Fuck me, it's Batman again!" Roderick cried, rubbing his head as he slowly climbed back to his feet, "Jesus Christ, that bastard's just here ta make my life hell ain't he?! Guys, get in there and blow that piece of shit to smithereens!" he bellowed.

His men obeyed and picked themselves up. Batman noticed straight away that they had guns with them. Some carried big guns while others had simple pistols that were easier to conceal and hide away. A gun was a gun no matter what size and they would kill no matter which one was fired. Batman slammed the door shut before anybody had a chance to open fire. The door wouldn't hold but it would buy him some time to make a move. He spun around sharply and glanced over at Lian.

"Lian, hide!" he barked, "It's you they're after! Don't make yourself a target!"

"But those men will shoot you!" Lian protested.

"Just go Lian! I'll hold them off!" Batman swore.

He then flinched as the sound of bullets came hammering against the door. The goons had opened fire and although the door was reinforced to be strong enough to prevent a break-in, it wouldn't hold up against a volley of machine gun fire. Lian screamed and leapt off the bed, rushing over to a large wardrobe that was standing by the large window nearby. She swung the door open and climbed into the wardrobe, burying herself under lots of clothes and shutting the door. Now she was safe, Batman could work on his strategy. The first bullets began to rip through the door, punching holes through it as if it were made of paper. It would only hold for a few more seconds before it came down. Batman made his move, sprinting across the room, switching the lights off and then leaping up on top of the wardrobe. The room was bathed in darkness, the only source light being the moonlight spilling through the window. The door then groaned as it was torn to pieces, huge chunks falling to the ground as the machine guns tore away what little there was left to hold them back. The men all smashed through the remains and piled into the room, looking everywhere for the Gotham vigilante.

They could hardly see anything for it was dark. Even the moonlight shining through the window offered little vision for them. Roderick swept his eyes over the dark room, all his senses alert. His heart pounded. He tried to slow it down, worried that Batman would hear it, by relaxing himself. All he ended up doing was making himself more agitated. One of his men felt against the walls, searching for a light switch. Once Batman was out of the dark, they'd have the advantage over him. One man stumbled by the wardrobe, his face and posture oddly calm and relaxed. This was just another day on the job as far as he was concerned. He had his pistol in hand, all senses alert for even the slightest movement or sound. He stood still, listening out. That was when Batman made his move. He leapt down from the wardrobe and landed on top of the goon, knocking him down onto the floor and causing him to drop his pistol. The others heard the sound and began opening fire, even though they couldn't see where Batman was. Bullets ripped through the floors and smashed through the windows, glass showing down onto the windowsill, floor and down outside. They never got close to hitting Batman for he had moved out of the way before anybody had even opened fire.

Batman leapt onto the bed and sprang towards another goon, his hands closing around his throat as he came into contact. The man cried out a strangled gasp as he was tackled to the floor. Batman then hoisted the man back onto his feet and stretched his arm out, forcing him to fire his gun. The others saw this and backed away, afraid of getting shot. Roderick opened fire, hoping to hit Batman but instead, he ended up killing the goon Batman had grabbed. The caped crusader had moved away, leaving the man's bloodied corpse to sink to the floor. Roderick growled venomously and began shooting randomly, hoping that he'd be able to hit Batman in the confusion. His remaining henchmen stayed behind him so they wouldn't get hit. Bullets sprayed everywhere, punching through the ceiling, the floor, the bed and just about everything that was in Roderick's path. Batman stayed on his toes, moving around and weaving through the room to avoid being hit. He then jumped onto the wardrobe, drew out some Batarangs and tossed them at Roderick and his men. The Batarangs hit them and made them flinch, leaving the room free of bullet showers for a moment. Batman seized his chance and jumped down onto one of the men, knocking him out as his head slammed against the floor.

A man that was nearby spun around and tried to shoot but Batman grabbed his gun hand, moved it out of the way and swung his head forward. The man bellowed in pain as he was hit above the nose by the headbutt. He staggered backwards, dropping his gun to clutch his face but was quickly brought down by Batman tripping him up with a roundhouse kick to the legs. There were only three men plus Roderick still standing. Batman was going to finish this! But then his luck turned for the worst. One of Roderick's men finally found a light switch and flicked it on. The darkness was snatched away from the masked man, taking away one of his biggest advantages and leaving him more open. Now the men could see him clearly, they would find it easier to hit him. Roderick aimed his gun and fired at Batman. The costumed hero darted aside to avoid the shots but then one of Roderick's men opened fire on him as well whilst he was moving. Batman's suit was semi-bullet proof but it wouldn't protect him forever. Some of the bullets hit him, slowing him down as he grunted from the impact of the blasts. Then suddenly, one of Roderick's men lumbered forward and slammed the butt of his gun into the vigilante's head, knocking him down onto the floor and disorienting him. The room spun for a moment, leaving Batman wondering which way was up. Roderick and his men surrounded him, keen to finish the job at last. Lian peeked through the wardrobe door and watched with horror as the criminals aimed their guns at her savior, preparing to execute him. What could she do?! Batman was going to die! She had to do something and fast!

"Black Mask is SOOOO gonna reward me for this!" Roderick cried excitedly, "I'm gonna off the Batman! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Before we send ya back ta hell bat-boy, we've got one question for ya." he said coldly, jabbing Batman's neck with the barrel of his gun, "Where's the kid? If ya tell us, we might let you live long enough ta say goodbye ta her!"

Batman didn't answer. He was not going to let them have Lian, no matter what happened to him. Roderick's face narrowed into a seething frown of annoyance at Batman's refusal to answer. He was going to have to hurt him real bad if it made Batman crack. But then suddenly, he felt something hard slam straight into his head and knock him aside. Batman looked up just in time to see what looked like a pistol fall to the ground just as Roderick was knocked aside. It was Lian! She had leapt out of the wardrobe, grabbed one of the unconscious men's guns and thrown it at him. Roderick landed on the ground, his finger accidentally tightening on the trigger and spraying bullets into his men's legs. They all cried out in pain as blood spouted out of the bullet wounds and they crumpled to the ground in agony. Batman was back on his feet in seconds and he quickly grabbed Roderick while he was still on the ground. He was barely conscious, an ugly mauve bruise on the side of his head marking the spot where the pistol had hit him. He couldn't fight back as Batman wrenched the gun out of his hands, tore the clip out and threw it to the ground, disarming it and rendering it useless. Then he punched Roderick right where his bruise was, knocking him out for a second time tonight. The other men had passed out from their injuries and the loss of blood that still continued to seep out of their legs. The room was full of unconscious or dead men, nobody left to challenge Batman again.

Now it was safe, Lian ran over to Batman and threw herself into his arms. She looked relieved that it was all over.

"You did it! You beat all those guys up!" she cried, "And, and, and, and I even saved you from being shot! I'm a hero!"

Batman had to admire this child. Despite all the horrors she'd witnessed tonight, she was still happy and chipper like she was now. It seemed she still had some of her innocence left in her after all. Batman patted Lian on the head, silently thanking her for saving his life. Of course, if anybody asked about it, he'd be quick to deny it.

"It was dangerous of you to get involved like that Lian." Batman said sternly, "But you was also very brave. You did good, helping me to beat those men."

Lian beamed with pleasure, happy to receive such a compliment. Just wait till she told her father and her friends at school that she'd saved Batman's life after he'd saved hers! It was funny she thought about her father for somebody came to the door and let out a loud gasp of horror. Batman turned around, expecting it to be another goon. It wasn't. It was Roy Harper himself, looking gobsmacked at what he was seeing.

"Jesus Christ, what happened here?!" he exclaimed, taking sight of the unconscious bodies and the amount of blood and damage that was everywhere, "It's like a massacre in here!"

"Daddy!" Lian squealed happily, running over to him and leaping into his arms.

"Oh my baby, Lian!" Roy cried, hugging her back and sighing with relief, "My little girl, are you OK?! Are you hurt?"

"No daddy, I'm fine! Batman protected me from those mean men!" Lian piped, "Batman's my hero!"

Roy looked over at Batman, who silently watched the two hugging each other. Batman took notice of Roy Harper's short ginger hair and his broad shoulders. He looked well-toned and very fit, suggesting he was somebody who worked out plenty. Anybody who dared mess with his daughter would clearly be on the receiving end of a mean punch from this man. He also noticed Roy's smart suit and tie. It looked expensive, not the kind that an average family could afford. Roy approached Batman, still clutching his daughter. His face was the mask of gratitude.

"I dunno how I can thank you for protecting my little Lian." Roy said softly, "She means the whole world to me! I can't imagine what I'd do if I lost her...Batman, I owe you one for this."

"You don't owe me anything Roy." Batman answered, "I'm just doing what it takes to keep people safe from criminals, even if they're not from Gotham."

"All life is precious kind of guy huh? Didn't think you were that kind of guy." Roy mused, "When me and my buddies in Star City heard the rumours about you, I always thought you were some kind of monster that preyed on the criminals! Guess you've got a heart after all."

"I only show it to those who don't point guns at me." Batman replied, "Now Roy, I think you need to explain something to your daughter. These men wanted you because they think you're rich and have a lot of money. And given you've managed to rent a room in this hotel, I think they're right. Nobody can just afford to stay in a place like this unless they have some kind of wealth."

Roy suddenly began to look uncomfortable, as if Batman had stumbled in on some big family secret that only he was supposed to no about. He fell silent for a moment, something even Lian picked up on. She'd never known her father to act like this before.

"So is it true then daddy? You do have some kind of "secret stash" after all?" she asked.

The ginger-haired man sighed for a moment, looking up at Batman, then at Lian and back over at Batman again. He supposed that now was the time to come clean. After all, why keep up the pretence? Batman had clearly worked it out himself. Roy began, choosing his words carefully.

"You sure got me there Bat." he murmured, "And here I wondered if the fact I have ties with Oliver Queen would raise some flags for the criminals. I suppose they think that because I'm best buddies with him, I must be filthy stinking rich too."

"They could even have wanted to use you and Lian as ransom to make Oliver Queen pay them handsomely." Batman theorized, "You may not have been the only target."

"Possibly." Roy agreed, "Anyway, I'm able to afford ridiculously expensive hotels like this as you worked out so I'm clearly no average guy. That's because after Lian was born, I was left struggling to care for her. Her mother's an assassin so she's the last person I want watching over my girl. I had blown most of money on drugs before Lian was born so I was financially unstable you could say. I could barely afford to look after myself and Lian so Oliver decided to compensate me by offering to donate some money to me whenever I needed it."

Batman nodded. He could see where this was going. Oliver Queen was one of the richest men in America so he could easily afford to spare a few thousand dollars, maybe a million, to help a friend in need. That made sense as to how Roy was able to afford such luxuries like The Gotham Bride. But surely Oliver hadn't given him THAT much money? A million dollars or even two million still shouldn't give him that much money to spend!

"Ollie's donations helped me get on my feet but then I had some more unbelievable luck!" Roy carried on, "I ended up buying a lottery ticket one night, jokingly saying to myself "Maybe if I win this, I might be as rich as my buddy Ollie" and against all odds, I ended up winning the jackpot! Won a lottery total of five million dollars! That was like more money then I'd ever seen in my life! When I told Oliver about it, he of course congratulated me and said that he didn't need to donate me anymore money. That lottery jackpot's more than I need!" he chuckled briefly.

"And you didn't tell Lian about it." Batman noted, refusing to ignore the elephant in the room.

"I couldn't bring myself to do so." Roy admitted, "I didn't want her bragging to people about it and setting herself up as some rich spoilt kid. I felt it was best to keep it a secret and raise Lian like a normal kid, while occasionally treating her to the odd luxury or two such as this. I'd tell her and her nanny that I got a bonus at work and that I was treating them. I'm making sure I'm careful with how much of that money I use as I can't afford to go broke again. Lian will never make it if I can't provide for her!"

Lian looked surprised to hear all of this. She was clearly hearing this for the first time. Roy had kept his secret well but like any well-kept secret, it always eventually got out in someway or another. Roy clearly looked as if he'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to reveal that secret, especially not like this. Batman turned the story over in his head, understanding Roy's decisions and why he had kept this all a secret. But somehow, Black Mask had heard about it and now he wanted that million dollar fortune. Roy would need all the protection he could get if he was to ensure this never happened again. There could be a time where he and his daughter were attacked again and he wouldn't be there to save them. Batman approached Roy and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't fault you for doing what you did." he said softly, "I know exactly the kind of trouble a kid who's born with a silver spoon in its mouth can be so it was good of you to keep that influence away from Lian. But at the same time, you'll need protection. Millionaires are popular targets for criminals and the richer, the better. You and Lian will need to keep yourselves hidden, keep a low profile so no criminal will ever think to target you. You know Oliver Queen, maybe he can help you with that."

"Ollie's probably as rich as Bruce Wayne himself! He'll be able to afford anything I need!" Roy laughed, "I'll tell him about this and see what he thinks. With his wealth and resources, he'll be able to make me harder to track down I'm sure."

"Indeed." Batman agreed, "For now, you and Lian need to get out of Gotham. And FAST. Gotham isn't safe for you two, not while Black Mask is hunting for your fortune Roy. The longer you stay here, the longer you're in danger."

"You'll get no arguments from me dude!" Roy exclaimed, "I'm gonna get packed and get driving back to Star City before anything else happens! We'll also have to take Fiona's body with us so she can get a proper burial. We're really gonna miss her..." he added sadly, "She was a great nanny for Lian and will be difficult to replace."

Lian shared her father's sorrow. She hugged him tighter and rested her head against his shoulder. Batman allowed the two to have their moment of silent grieving, knowing exactly how it felt to lose somebody dear. A minute later, Roy and Lian both looked up at Batman and the father smiled again, his sorrow seemingly gone for now.

"Thanks again for keeping my daughter safe." Roy said, "You're welcome to visit us whenever you want Bat-dude."

"Don't mention it." Batman replied, "I'm just here to make this city a safer place. I'll see you two around."

He was about to turn to leave but as he did so, Lian suddenly squirmed in Roy's arms. The single father knew what that meant and he put her down so Lian could run up to Batman and give him one last hug. Batman looked down at the child, unable to keep himself from smiling a small smile of appreciation. There was something about that child that just seemed to ease some of the darkness in his heart that he couldn't quite work out.

"Bye bye Batman! See you soon!" Lian squealed excitedly.

Batman softly patted her head in return.

"See you around Lian. And thank you for saving my life too."

Roy stared at his daughter in surprise. Lian had saved Batman's life?! This night just continued to get even more crazy! Before he could say anything about it, Batman ran over to the window and leapt out of it, firing a grappling hook at a nearby building and disappearing into the night, a shadow joining a blanket of other shadows that shrouded the city. For a moment, Roy and Lian watched out the window as Batman vanished and then Roy looked down at Lian, his face still full of awe.

"So...tell me how you managed to save Batman's life then Lian." Roy said slowly.

"OK daddy!" Lian piped, "So these men come bursting into the room and Batman tells me to hide in the wardrobe...

* * *

Meanwhile, Black Mask was sitting in his luxurious study and answering some phone calls. He was sitting a polished oak desk that looked more like it belonged in a museum than a house and using a phone that had a more vintage appearance to it. He liked it that way for it was harder to trace calls on an older phone than a modern one. His girlfriend, Tiffany, was standing behind him and massaging his shoulders as Black Mask answered another call. The Brooklyn woman could tell that her boyfriend wasn't happy. She could feel his shoulders tensing as the call went on.

"So Roderick and his men got their asses kicked by Batman again?!" he growled.

A pause as the man he was talking to answered him.

"That's the benefit of having some cops in yer pocket, you get ta tell me if my men are in police custody or not." the masked man muttered, "Thanks fer lettin' me know Officer Balant. Get back to yer duties and keep up the facade! I'll punish Roderick and those other chumps later, I haven't got the damn time for it now!"

He then slammed the phone down, so hard that the pencils on his desk shuddered in response. Tiffany stepped back as if afraid her man was going to hit her.

"Gosh boss, tonight's just not our night ain't it?" she blurted.

"Understatement of the night babe..." Black Mask growled, running a hand over his masked head, "A bunch of my men are behind bars and no doubt Batman's getting Roy and his brat out of the city where we'll never reach him! I could always make a meeting with some of the lowlifes in Star City but then I might even up getting Batman chasing me there too! And Star City's authorities are harder to buy than Gotham's so if I get caught, I'll have a harder time walkin' outta there then I would here! We can't let that happen..."

"So what do you suppose we oughta do then Roman?" Tiffany asked curiously.

"We'll keep our activities limited to Gotham still." Sionis replied, "But for now, I'm gonna keep ourselves focused on offing the Batman. And given I have two dead bodies that I can put to good use, we might be able to destroy that freak!"

"Ooooh, I like da sound of that Roman!" Tiffany cried enthusiastically, "So what's da plan?"

Black Mask paused for a moment, standing up out of his chair and striding over to a window, gazing out at the moonlight as if admiring the world outside his front door. Tiffany stood behind him and rested her head against his arm, cupping a hand around the criminal boss's well-toned chest.

"A little something involving creating a bad image for Batman..." Black Mask purred...

* * *

 _ **Well...this doesn't sound good. Black Mask has a plan and Batman has no idea about it! What will happen when the plan is carried out?**_

 _ **Find out next time as Batman finds himself becoming "Gotham's Most Wanted"...**_


	7. Episode 6: Gotham's Most Wanted

_Episode 6: Gotham's Most Wanted_

Bruce Wayne had no idea what to expect to hear on the news as he got out of bed this morning. Having saved the life of Roy Harper's daughter last night and put a stop to another operation by Black Mask, he had retired to his chambers and settled down for the night. In order to live the life he lived, it was important that he still got his sleep. Bruce had slept in so late that it was almost noon by the time he woke up. As he sat down in his elegant dining room, ready for breakfast, he noticed how the hands on his vintage grandfather clock were slowly edging towards twelve o' clock across the clock's golden face. That he supposed was to be expected from living a nocturnal lifestyle. Alfred entered the room, carrying a silver tray with a domed lid and a newspaper on it, his smart shoes gently rapping on the marble floor as he approached his master. He lay down the tray in front of Bruce.

"Your usual sir." he said bluntly, taking the lid away to reveal the contents underneath.

In order to keep in good shape, Bruce often had healthy meals that were high in energy, vitamins and calcium. His breakfast was an organic kind of cereal with a couple of boiled eggs and a piece of grapefruit accompanied by a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Just the kind of diet a superhero like him would need. Bruce lifted the newspaper away and began to tuck in, intending to read it in a moment. Alfred stood by as his master ate, as if waiting to be asked something, or even to say something.

"So last night was rather busy I take it?" he inquired politely "I've not known you to get up THIS late. Your breakfast could more be considered lunch it's so close to noon."

"I ended up getting more than I bargained for." Bruce explained as he cut a piece of egg and ate it, "I ended up having to protect a child from Black Mask's men for they wanted to use her for ransom. Her dad's a lottery winner and became a millionaire because of it so they want his fortune."

"That Roman Sionis is a nasty piece of work isn't he?" Alfred sighed grimly, "Wanting to squeeze all the money he can from innocent people, even though he's already rich himself."

"The more money he gets, the more power he has." Bruce noted matter-of-factly, "The girl's father is a friend of Oliver Queen's too so they could've been planning to ransom from him once they got Roy's money."

"I bet Mr. Queen will be very grateful you saved his friend's daughter from being used as ransom bait."

"I got a call from him earlier, he was delighted and couldn't thank Batman enough for what he did."

"Nice to know we have some friends in our lives, even outside of Gotham."

Bruce nodded agreeably as he picked up his grapefruit. His life as Batman had made many enemies in Gotham but even now, he still some people who were on his side. He even wondered if Star City's mysterious Green Arrow vigilante was on his side as well. He put those thoughts aside as he finished his breakfast. After he'd eaten, he wiped his lips with his napkin and picked up the newspaper. What he saw ended up making him feel as if he was just about to lose what he'd eaten. The headline of the paper was one of the worst headlines he could've possibly read:

 **Batman: Murderer?**

Alfred saw the headline too and his eyes widened, an unusual gesture from the usually placid and even-tempered butler. The two read on:

 **It seems that Gotham's mysterious vigilante, Batman, might not be the saint some people say he is. Last night, it was revealed that he had murdered two men working for the famed industrialist, Roman Sionis, after what appeared to be a massacre that went on in the Gotham Bride hotel. Room 142 was littered with bodies, most of them unconscious and one dead while another dead body had been found a good distance away from the hotel. Police are currently investigating what has gone on and have questioned many of the men they arrested at the site. The imprisoned men claim that Batman had attacked them unprovoked and had murdered two of their own, though the question remains why they were in the hotel room in the first place.**

 **Commissioner Loeb has offered his thoughts on the matter:**

What followed next was a picture of Commissioner Loeb himself, looking as old and ugly as ever, along with a wall of text that quoted what he'd said:

 **"I warned this city that the Batman was a menace! Now they can see that Batman's just as evil as the thugs we lock away! By the power invested in me, I'm gonna have every damn cop on the force after that maniac and have him arrested even if I have to tear Gotham apart to catch him!"**

That didn't surprise Bruce for Loeb seemed to have a grudge against him anyway. If he was working for either of The Big Three like he suspected, he knew that Loeb would need very little excuse to come after him. He read on.

 **However, not everybody believes this story for there are many who are accusing the cops of misinterpreting the scene and painting Batman as the bad guy. One such person is beloved District Attorney, Harvey Dent, who offered his own opinion on the matter.**

That made Bruce feel better, knowing that once again, he had somebody still on his side. He read on as he came to Harvey's quotes.

 **"These claims are ridiculous." claims Dent, "Batman is not a menace and he's no murderer. The man is a hero and he only wants to do what's necessary to keep Gotham safe. Batman saved my life, that is a fact. I was attacked by an assassin the other day and Batman risked his neck just to save me! I hear he saves other lives too. Tell me people, does that sound like a menace to you? More like the exact opposite to me. If anybody should be arrested, it's the charlatan who's spreading these foul rumours!"**

Bruce winced a little at that line. He knew for a fact that just saying those words would make Harvey a target for any one of The Big Three. He had a feeling that he'd be saving Harvey's life a second time should his fears come true. He put down the newspaper, not wishing to read anymore. Alfred shook his head grimly, seeming to share his master's disapproval.

"That was either mighty brave of Mr. Dent or mighty foolish." Alfred murmured, "No doubt Mr. Sionis is the one spreading these rumours and placing an arrest warrant on your head given last night but saying that the one spreading the rumours should be arrested...he could rile a lot of people with words like that."

"That's the sad thing about us Alfred. Words can provoke in the most dangerous of ways." Bruce sighed grimly, "Tonight, I'll have to watch over him just to make sure nobody takes a shot at him."

"A most ingenious idea sir." the butler approved, "Mr. Dent will be all about wanting protection from you given you saved him from Killer Croc that time."

"He'll be grateful, that's for sure and won't question me at all." the billionaire agreed, "And maybe this could be a way of proving that I'm not the villain the Big Three make me out as. If I protect Harvey, Gotham will see that I'm not the bad guy and the cops might start investigating the ones who actually deserve to be locked up."

"Hopefully." Alfred agreed, "Though I do hope you'll be careful in case you come across that dreadful Copperhead person again, or somebody else that the Big Three might send after you."

Bruce didn't respond. He just got up from his chair and straightened the collar of his night robe.

"I'll go early tonight, I'm not taking any chances." he said, "The sooner I'm on patrol, the better. Harvey's life could depend on it."

Alfred pursed his lips, not doubting his master for one second. Powerful people make powerful enemies and Harvey could easily have done so right now so it would be beneficial if Batman was on patrol as early as possible. As he followed his master out of the dining room, he began to hope that he would survive the night once again and that Bruce wouldn't be up against anything as bad as Copperhead or Killer Croc. Any night could be Batman's last and with Gotham's cops now after him for he is on their Most Wanted list, tonight could prove to be the most hectic so far...

* * *

Earlier that day, Black Mask was in his private study and keeping an eye on the news, hoping to hear the public screaming for Batman's head on a platter after he'd given the two dead men to the cops and paid those on his payroll to start giving interviews and accusing Batman for the crime. He had been happy to hear that there were many people who wanted Batman arrested, even that old fool Commissioner Loeb. It seemed that Carmine Falcone was buying the rumours and was hoping to cash in on Batman's capture. For once, Black Mask didn't care for Falcone or Thorne would be doing him a favour if they ended up getting rid of Batman for him. It would just make his life a lot easier. But as he watched the television set, his gaze became a cold frown of disapproval as the news showed Harvey Dent standing up on a podium and making a speech declaring Batman's innocence. The reporter covering this was Vicki Vale, a beautiful woman with red hair, and seemed eager to be the woman reporting this event.

"...and right now, it appears District Attorney Harvey Dent is addressing the crowd and giving his thoughts on the whole controversy concerning Batman." she said as her cameraman turned the camera towards Harvey so they could get a good shot of him, "No doubt he has nothing but praise for him given his claims that Batman saved his life the other day..."

Black Mask watched, his gaze getting more and more intense as Harvey gave his testimony. The man was dressed in a white suit and tie with a black shirt underneath. The white and black clothes almost seemed to be there as a deliberate mockery of Black Mask himself as he took note of his own similarly coloured attire. The speech went on with Harvey declaring all the alleged claims against Batman to be nonsense and that Batman is a hero who should be celebrated, not hated. He then repeated the words that had been printed in the newspaper, declaring that the real criminal was the one who had made this claims and spread these rumours, calling it a deliberate attempt to discredit Batman to hide the true crimes that were going on. This greatly annoyed the skull-faced crime boss but what annoyed him even more was seeing that the crowd seemed to be buying his words and siding with Dent. If he was to get Batman to be Gotham's most wanted then he had to sow the seeds of doubt and get people to believe he was evil! He couldn't do it if the crowd believed Dent that Batman was a hero! He clenched his fists tightly as Dent finished his speech and walked a way from a tumultuous applause from the crowd. He stood up and kicked the TV, knocking it over and breaking it with a hard smash on the floor. A thin wisp of smoke drifted up from the smashed TV but Black Mask ignored it, turning away and storming towards his desk.

"I gave those bastards plenty of material to work with and some morons ain't buyin' the ruse!" he growled, "And now Dent's just trying to sway public opinion in Batman's favour! If they do that, the cops who ain't loyal ta me will no doubt try to separate the facts from the fiction and show Batman as the saint they view him as! It seems I'm gonna have to make things more convincing if I'm ta get those dolts to turn against Batman! Two dead bodies and my men's words just ain't enough obviously..."

He sat down at his desk, fuming angrily to himself as he put his hands over his temples. He would've massaged them had he actually been able to remove the mask that was permanent attached to his face. He exhaled and lowered his hands onto the desk, allowing his criminal mind to run wild with answers to his problem. How could he turn the public against Batman? He smiled as he imagined killing Harvey Dent. Yes, that would definitely stir up a lot of controversy. But how could he convince them that Batman did it? He knew for a fact that he couldn't give Batman a gun and make him do the deed. The masked man would have to make it convincing. That was when he began to consider the situation.

Maybe he could have Dent assassinated? And if the assassin was to be questioned, he could always lie to the press and claim he had been hired by Batman. Or maybe even make it look as if he was trying to STOP Batman from killing Dent. Yes...that would be a good idea. That would most certainly work! It had to work! And Sionis knew he had the perfect man in mind. He knew many assassins out there, even having their contact numbers so he could call them up for any job at all. There was only one man he had in mind, the man who never missed and was more successful than any assassin out there. Yes...he would be perfect! His eyes gleaming, Black Mask picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Batman, you're dead meat..." he purred wickedly as he waited for his call to be answered.

* * *

Morning routines seemed to variate for many people. People all had their own ways of starting off the day. Some would take it easy and just have breakfast while watching a bit of television. Some would start off by exercising to get themselves in working condition. Some would even just start off by logging into their computers and answering their emails. There was one man who had his own routine that not a lot of people would consider a good way to start the day.

The room the man had set up his training equipment in was a murky, derelict area that looked more like a training room for a military camp than a room in a house. There were targets set up all over the room, even on the ceiling, and they all seemed to be pepper-potted with holes, suggesting they had been used very regularly. The floor was littered with empty bullet casings and the stench of gunpowder hung in the air. The owner liked it this way, it reminded him of the kind of killer lifestyle he led. There were guns stacked on the walls, all of them used and all of them varying in size, shape, make and function. From pistols to shotguns and even rifles, this grotesque collection of murderous instruments told anybody who walked into the room what kind of owner they belonged to. This was a man who loved guns and trained himself to use practically any kind of gun he could get his hands on. He was also a man who was very skilled...in assassination.

The man grabbed one of the pistols on the wall and lifted it away from its display hooks. He admired it for a moment, sweeping his keen eyes over the pistol before loading it and preparing to take aim. It was a standard make of pistol with a square barrel and a firm hand grip. Reliable, easy to conceal and great to use in battle, these kinds of pistols were always a favourite among assassins. The man holding the gun was very fit with a perfect muscular structure and figure which compensated for the kind of life he led. He was in perfect shape which made him perfect for the job he possessed. He had the strength, speed and stamina to be a very efficient killer, and his training had paid off beautifully. He was the kind of man who never missed. The many clients he'd served in the past could vouch for him and back up that claim if they needed to.

The gun-wielder took aim at one of the targets he'd set up, not even bothering to adopt a combat stance. He was calm, collected and supremely confident. Why go over-the-top when you didn't have to? He aimed and fired. The pistol spat out a single bullet, an ear-splitting bang echoing around the room after it. The bullet went straight through the hole in the bullseye of the target, not even making the hole so much as an inch bigger than it already was. That was a good shot, the best kind of shot even. The man grinned to himself, pleased to see he still got it. He aimed and fired again, this time shooting several times and not stopping until he'd emptied the magazine in the pistol. Every single shot had passed through the same hole he'd aimed at. And not one of the bullets had made the hole any bigger than before. It was as if he hadn't even been shooting at it. The sharpshooter loaded the pistol with another cartridge and repeated his exercise, scoring perfect shots once more and not missing his target once. Once he'd emptied that cartridge, he loaded in another and repeated the exercise some more. The sound of gunshots rung around the room for several minutes. The man had emptied six cartridges by the time he'd decided he was finished. Every single shot fired had been perfect, not even so much as a centimeter or even a millimeter off mark. That was in his mind, a perfect exercise.

The man placed the pistol back on the wall and was about to pick out another weapon to test out. But as his hands hovered over a military rifle, he felt a vibration against the side of his leg that stopped him dead in his tracks. It was his phone. No doubt somebody wanted him to put a bullet in somebody's head again. That was his job after all and how he got by in life. He fished the mobile phone out of his pocket, briefly glancing at the background photo which was a picture of him smiling and sharing a hug with a little girl with beautiful brunette hair and large, innocent emerald eyes that seemed to stare back at him before he answered. The girl was a reminder of the only piece of humanity the man had left in him. He put the child out of his mind as he put the phone to his ear to answer the call.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice hard and serious.

"Floyd Lawton! So glad you could answer my call!" came the gruff voice of Black Mask from the other side of the phone.

"Please Mask, call me Deadshot." the man muttered, "I take it you need somebody silencing again?" he added nonchalantly.

The casual tone of his question suggested that he had killed for the masked crime boss before. The two men were familiar with one another and had done business together. To Deadshot, this call was a case of just another assignment and another big paycheck waiting for him at the end of this kill.

"I do indeed Deadshot. Listen carefully because this kill will be one of the most important kills of your life..." Black Mask began...

* * *

The afternoon was fast approaching evening. Harvey Dent could already see the sky beginning to darken as the sun seemed to be hurrying behind the horizon, almost like it wanted to escape as quick as possible. The blue of the sky was slowly becoming darker with the various shades of pink and orange that always accompanied a perfect sunset. There was something about watching a sunset that Harvey always found strangely comforting. Maybe it reminded him of mood lighting that some fat cat's limousine might contain. As a child, his house had contained a few lamps that would slowly change colour in a continuous cycle when switched on and they would always help put him to sleep. Watching sunsets probably reminded him of those. So what mood would he associate the colours of the sunset with? Contention? Exhaustion? Harvey wasn't sure. But he knew how he felt already.

After delivering his speech to the people of Gotham this morning, he had been happy to receive such a resounding cheer. He knew that a guy as influential as he could sway public opinion to his side. A lot of people trusted him, a lot of people supported him. Many even wanted him to be the next mayor come the next elections which would be coming soon. It wasn't hard to believe he had people distrusting the foul rumours spread around trying to paint Batman in a bad light. Dent wanted to know who was doing this and why. Was it Copperhead trying to get revenge on Batman? Was it Roman Sionis, whom he suspected wasn't as clean as he presented himself as? They were HIS men that had allegedly been killed by Batman so chances are, he could've arranged those "murders" to frame the vigilante. It could even be Rupert Thorne or Carmine Faclone. Anyone of the Big Three could be responsible. Whoever was framing Batman would be sorry they tried to demonize such a hero when Harvey was finished with them. The D.A. vowed that Batman's name would be 100% cleared and there would be no doubts behind who the real villain was.

He was going to make another public speech to close off at 10'o clock tonight. He was glad the speech had been scheduled for then. Batman would be out again and maybe Dent could convince him to appear live in front of the television cameras so he could publicly announce his innocence. That would certainly attract a LOT of attention! It would also give Dent a chance to thank Batman in front of the people and maybe let them hear the Gotham crime fighter's side of the story. Of course, he had known that he would make enemies. Harvey knew that the life of a politician was never an easy life and no matter how nice you try to be, you're still bound to make somebody angry. He'd feel good knowing Batman was out there watching his back with his speech taking place at night. If any fool with a gun tried to shoot him, they would have a very tough bodyguard of his to deal with.

Harvey was currently sitting alone in his wealthy home and gazing out the window as the last remaining beams of sunlight peeked over the horizon. He was putting himself in a soft, calming frame of mind to prepare himself for tonight. It was going to be big, VERY big, and he didn't want to look like a nervous wreck in front of large crowds of people. This was his idea of relaxing before a big speech, just sitting by the window and watching the sunset. When said speeches took place in the day, he'd watch something else out the window instead. Harvey was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of a door opening and an attractive woman walking in. It was his wife, Gilda "Grace" Dent. She was still looking as beautiful as ever with her smooth brunette hair, her dazzling emerald eyes and her slender frame. Much like Harvey, Gilda hadn't forgotten about Batman's selfless rescue of the two when they had been held hostage by Copperhead the night before. She had supported her husband as he had defended their hero. But Harvey could see right away his wife didn't look herself. She looked worried, her eyes full of concern for the D.A.

"Enjoying the view Harv?" Gilda asked casually.

"Yeah. There's something about a Gotham sunset that just never fails to impress Gilda." Harvey replied, "I could watch these things forever, they're so soothing."

The question had been casual and the answer just as casual but Harvey knew well that Gilda hadn't come in just to ask him that. Gilda knew that as well and decided to come forward. She wasn't going to hide her true feelings from her husband. She would never be dishonest with him like that.

"Harv, are you sure this speech will be a good idea?" the brunette woman asked nervously, approaching the smartly-dressed man and putting a hand on his shoulder, her thumbs caressing his neck softly, "Call me paranoid, I know that I'm probably paranoid already, but I've got a bad feeling about tonight."

"What's there to worry about my grace?" Harvey replied nonchalantly, "You heard the reply to my earlier testimony, the crowd loved it. They believe that Batman's being set up just like I do! Except I don't believe it, I KNOW it..."

"I don't disagree with you at all baby, I was backing you up the whole time!" Gilda protested, "But...you've no doubt riled up the wrong people. Commissioner Loeb in particular could well show up on your doorstep and accuse you of treason and then take you away! And you're making another speech to defend Batman tonight! I just can't help but worry about you Harv! What if this all blows up in your face? What if somebody takes a shot at you? What if...what if you get killed?"

Harvey embraced his love tenderly, running his fingers gently through her hair. He understood his wife's concerns perfectly and didn't fault her for being so worried. But he couldn't back out now. He would just be giving his enemies some satisfaction and letting them win in a way. He had to show strength and courage to motivate the people.

"Gilda, there's nothing to worry about." Harvey replied softly, "If anybody does try to take a shot at me, remember who'll be there to stop it happening? Batman will be out again tonight, like he always is. I'll be fine, Batman will see to that."

"He saved your life once already, I don't think he'd oppose to doing it a second time." Gilda muttered, "Maybe you should consider hiring him to be your next bodyguard Harv. You'd be well-looked after at least."

"You know my love, I think that's a great idea." Harvey said approvingly, "If I see him tonight, I'll drop a suggestion to him."

Gilda rolled her eyes for a moment. Sometimes, she hated how Harvey would seem oblivious to her sarcasm. Maybe he wasn't and just pretended he didn't know it was sarcasm. Nevertheless, she could at least simmer down with the thought of her husband being kept safe from harm by Batman when tonight's speech began. She kissed Harvey passionately on the lips, the two momentarily allowing tonight's events to be forgotten about. In their embrace, all that mattered was them, nothing else. And with any luck, it wouldn't be their last...

* * *

Tonight came at last. The infamous nighttime that seemed to turn Gotham into a monster that needed to be tamed had come once more. The sky was pitch black with very few stars and the moon mostly shrouded by clouds. It seemed nature was determined to look as threatening as possible this night. But it clearly had no effect on what was happening at the Gotham Town Hall for the hive of activity buzzing there was feeling anything but fear.

A large crowd was gathering around the Town Hall, most of them men and women and many of the citizens were holding up picket signs containing phrases such as "Batman No Villain!", "Police Should Be Arresting REAL Criminals!", "Batman's a hero! The GCPD are villains!" and one which was very popular and was repeated the most times amongst the many signs in the crowd, "Support Batman and Support Dent!" Harvey had very much liked that phrase and was pleased to be seeing many different picket signs held by people with the phrase on it. He was also looking forward to feeding the crowd exactly what they wanted, which was more support for Gotham's protector.

Unknown to Harvey, or even the crowd outside the Town Hall, the very vigilante they were defending from the bad press and demonizing rumours being spread around was actually closer to them than they would've expected. Just as he'd sworn to Alfred this morning, Batman had made sure to go out on patrol as soon as night came just so he could keep watch over his friend. He'd suited up and left Wayne Manor in the Batmobile, arriving in Gotham with merely half an hour to spare before Dent's speech tonight. He was standing on a building directly opposite the Town Hall, allowing him a full front view of the entire building and all the field of vision he needed to keep watch for any would-be-assassin taking a shot at the District Attorney. His keen eyes never stopped moving even though the rest of his body was completely still. If anybody saw him, they'd make the natural assumption that it was just a statue. A statue with actual moving eyes perhaps but nobody would see them from this height. Batman himself could barely make out anybody's eyes down below. He even had his Detective Vision on, switching between that and his normal vision to make the most thorough of searches. Whenever the Detective Vision was on, the entire crowd of people would turn inside out, becoming ghostly blue outlines around their skeletons as Batman searched them for any signs of hidden weapons. Nobody in the crowd had so much as a baton on them, let alone a gun.

The Gotham vigilante's biggest concern wasn't just a possible terrorist hiding in the crowd, but if any of the cops working for the Big Three decided to take a shot at Harvey. Why not? They had every reason to, especially since one of them had started spreading the rumours in the first place! Batman had watched any cop patrolling the area through his Detective Vision and had of course, spotted any of them carrying guns as their skeletons flashed orange in his eyes. That gave him the advantage over the cops. He knew which ones were armed and thus, would be better prepared to take any of them out should any of them open fire. He had recognized a lot of the cops too, picking out Commissioner Loeb straight away even without his Detective Vision. To his relief, there were decent cops who weren't corrupt that he had spotted too such as Commissioner Gordon, Detective Harvey Bullock, Officer Renee Montoya and the youngest officer on the force, Officer Zack Snyder. When listening in on police communications, Batman had heard each one of them defend him in some way or criticize Commissioner Loeb on his skewed priorities. Bullock wasn't as convinced as Gordon, Montoya or Snyder but he was loyal to Gordon so that made him a good cop in Batman's eyes. With them on patrol, Harvey had more protection than just himself tonight.

"Good thing Gotham still has good cops..." Batman murmured to himself.

He then pressed the side of his cowl to activate the built-in communicator device so he could speak to Alfred, who was monitoring him from the cave.

"Status report: no signs of an obvious terrorist so far." Batman reported, "There are some of Gotham's corrupt cops, Loeb himself among them, on patrol but I've managed to pick them out so I'll be ready if they try to attack."

"Good to hear Master Wayne." the Englishman replied, "Have you surveyed the rooftops to make sure there are now concealed snipers hidden up them?"

"I was thinking the same thing Alfred. I'll keep a look out on the rooftops right now." the crime fighter answered, "Just because there's no obvious threat on the ground, it doesn't mean there isn't one up above."

"Indeed Master Wayne. A lot of criminals like to perform the unexpected and wager their plans on people expecting the obvious." Alfred replied, "Mr. Sionis or Falcone and Throne will be more subtle than that, we both know."

"Of course. They're no ordinary criminals..." Batman murmured, thinking back to how organized some of their previous crimes he'd investigated had been, "I'll let you know what's going on in another half hour or so."

He took his fingers away from his cowl, switching off the communicator. There was nothing more to say. Taking in Alfred's advice, Batman now started sweeping his eyes over the rooftops nearby. It would be just like Falcone, Thorne or Sionis to conceal a sniper up on the roof somewhere. After all...they'd done it before. Batman couldn't see much from where he was given most of the rooftops where shrouded in shadows. Most of Gotham's light was down below, leaving little light for the rooftops. He switched on his Detective Vision again, the world turning blue all around him as he surveyed his surroundings. None of the buildings appeared to have anybody up on the roof. He could see skeletons of people inside the buildings but none of them appeared to be carrying weapons. The skeletons were all blue, meaning they weren't armed. Most of the skeletons he could see in the buildings weren't even near any windows. Maybe Harvey would be fine after all and there was no worry of there being any assassin. Batman would be all too happy to accept he was being paranoid if it meant Harvey would be safe tonight.

As for the D.A., he was getting ready to walk out of the Town Hall and address the crowd. He straightened his tie for what seemed like the millionth time as he made sure he was ready. Why did the damn thing seem so determined to stay crooked?! Like Batman, Harvey had of course expected some crazy loon would come after him and had made sure he had security with him. Two armed guards armed with machine guns and wearing protective body armour were by his side, willing to die for their employer if they had to. Harvey had made the necessary checks to make sure they were loyal and didn't have anything suspicious in their backgrounds that would make them a security risk before hiring them. He looked over at the guards, wondering how they were feeling. They were tight-lipped and expressionless. They didn't even look nervous, or happy or angry or anything. They just looked serious.

"OK boys, this is it." Harvey said timidly, "Another big speech for another big crowd. You ready?"

"Yes sir!" both guards replied in unison.

That made Dent feel a little more relaxed. He took one last breath before raising his hands ahead of himself.

"Then let's give them a show..."

The D.A. pushed his way through the double doors, receiving a tumultuous applause from the crowd outside. His guards followed, their eyes suspiciously inspecting every person they could see ahead of them. Gilda was in the crowd, watching her husband with a nervous smile as he waved at her. She waved back. As Harvey approached the podium, he held up his hands, addressing the crowd and bowing in many directions to acknowledge as many of the cheering supporters he could see. Many cameras flashed, turning the scene before him into a chorus of clicking cameras and flashing lights. Batman was watching the D.A. make his grand entrance. That Harvey Dent never failed to make a good impression. He was clearly in his element, supremely confident but not arrogant, and taking everything in with stride. He admired that about his friend, his ability to somehow remain cool even when faced with so many faces and so much cheering. A sharp contrast to his more secluded, quiet lifestyle that much was certain. Harvey had now reached the podium and he held up a hand, beckoning the crowd to fall silent so he could begin. The incredible noise slowly faded away. It made Batman feel amazed that so many people could suddenly be so quiet.

"Hello and good evening to all you Gothamites." Dent began, addressing everybody, "Looks like tonight's gonna be quite the night! I didn't think I'd attract such a big audience!"

He was half-joking and some of the audience appeared to realize this for they laughed at his remark.

"So tonight, you have all gathered together for hopefully the same reason that I am standing before you all." Harvey continued, "We're here to show our support to someone who is wrongfully being demonized by the press and made to look like a criminal by those who clearly don't understand this man. You all know who I mean. Tonight, we are here about Gotham's protector, Gotham's guardian angel...The Batman."

The crowd murmured, some waving their signs together and some raising their fists.

"Yes, you all know him from the papers and what the reporters have said." the man nodded, "Some say he's a hero. Some say he's just as bad as the criminals that plague this city. I'm here to tell you all that that's utter nonsense. Complete, utter bull as some of you might say. I said it this morning and I'll say it again. Batman's a hero, nothing else. The man risked life and limb for me and my wife when we were held hostage one night. I even fell into the sewers and was attacked by a man dressed as a giant crocodile. Batman once again, saved my life. And some people are demented enough to believe that he seriously murdered some of Roman Sionis's people like a monster? Crazy isn't it?"

The crowd shouted their approval. Commissioner Loeb, who was standing by with some of his men beside him for crowd control, frowned at the D.A. In a way, the man in the white suit up on the podium had somewhat insulted him. He put up a hand, clearly wanting to put his word in but Harvey ignored him. He wasn't interested in what the commissioner had to say.

"We have cops in the city who are pointing their guns at the wrong person." Harvey went on, "They accuse Batman of being a criminal simply because he works outside of the law. I ask this...is that really such a crime? Is it really so wrong to want to arrest somebody who just wants to help save the city? The police can't be everywhere at once so instead of being ungrateful..." he paused to glower at Commissioner Loeb as if challenging him personally, "...we should offer our support to Batman. Yes it's the police's job to keep crime off the streets, but Batman's only doing what any police officer would do. If they are allowed to beat up criminals and take them in than what makes it any different when Batman does it? He does it for the same reason any cop does, to uphold the law and make criminals pay for their crimes. And I say we should thank him for it!" he concluded, punching the air to emphasize his point.

The crowd cheered, approving of every word that the man they had come to watch had said. Loeb's scowl deepened but he didn't say anything. Falcone had given him orders to silence Dent, but not right now. Not when they were so many witnesses. He would make sure Harvey got his when this was over and the crowd had disappeared. But it seemed somebody was going to beat him to it.

Batman had watched the entire speech and had listened to his close friend speak. Such courage he had! It took guts to come on stage, berate anybody for wanting him arrested, and show support for him and Harvey had done it without once staggering or showing signs of fear. Gotham didn't need him in order to survive. It needed symbols of hope like Harvey Dent. But just as Batman was about to listen to what else Harvey had to say, his keen eyesight caught something and he watched it with dread. One of the orange skeletons in his detective vision was pushing his way through the crowd and moving towards Harvey Dent. The cowl's scanning features labelled him as Officer Balant, an officer on Batman's list of corrupt cops. Was Balant seriously going to just walk up to Harvey Dent and just murder him in cold blood? Batman shouldn't have even framed the question. It was obvious what was going to happen. It was clear Balant didn't care if he was arrested for this act, he was just willing to murder Harvey Dent and stop him from spreading hope for his supporters.

Acting fast, Batman gripped the edges of his cape and threw himself off the building. His cape spread out like a pair of wings and he began to glide down towards the podium. With how fast he was accelerating, he would be able to hit Officer Balant before he could fire. The corrupt cop was just shoving the last few people out of his way so he could get a shot at the District Attorney. Commissioner Loeb looked almost amazed to see this whereas Gordon, who was watching with Montoya and Snyder beside him, drew out their own pistols. They knew what was going to happen so they had to take action. They ran forward, pointing their weapons at Balant as he approached the steps. Harvey looked down from where he was standing in confusion, his two bodyguards closing in to and pointing their guns at Balant. The crowd just watched with baited breath, unsure what to do. Gilda was watching, her face as pale as could be. She had dreaded this and now the nightmare was coming to life!

"Officer Balant! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Gordon demanded fiercely.

"Stay outta this Jim or I'll mow you down too." Balant retorted coldly, "This don't concern you."

"It does now. So tell me what the hell you think you're doing or I'll shoot you!" Gordon barked.

"Haven't you heard this idiot Jim?!" Balant snapped, "Here he is, up on stage in his suit and tie, praising the Batman like he's some kinda hero! The guy's begging to be shot for this treason! I'm gonna kill Harvey Dent and you ain't gonna stop me!"

He then turned his attention to the D.A., his gun in his hand and aimed directly at Harvey's chest. The crowd gasped in horror with Gilda screaming for her husband.

"Show's over Dent." Balant said dryly.

Gordon knew that it was wrong to shoot an officer but he had no choice. He couldn't just let this maniac kill Harvey for no reason! A tiny doubt nagged him in the back of his mind. Why hadn't Balant just shot Dent already? Why did he feel the need to announce his motivation to him instead of ignoring him and just shooting Dent? Maybe Balant was so insane he hadn't had his thoughts structured right. He was clearly mad if he thought he could gun down the politician with so many guns trained on him. Even Loeb was pointing a gun at Balant, though in his case it was to keep up the pretence that he was legitimate. He wanted Dent dead, but he knew he'd have to answer a lot of questions if Dent was gunned down and he didn't do anything about it.

But neither the cops, nor Dent's guards fired a single shot. As Balant prepared for the kill, a big black shape had suddenly tackled him down to the ground, smashing his face into the steps and making him cry out in anguish. Everybody gasped in a mixture of amazement, surprise and excitement. They all knew what they were looking at as the shape picked up Balant and kicked his gun away, blood dripping from an ugly slit in his forehead.

"It's Batman!" shouted one member of the audience.

"He's come to save Harvey Dent! Hooray!" cried another.

"My word...I didn't expect you to show up!" Gordon blurted, lowering his pistol as Batman looked over at him.

"Let's just say that I support Dent too." Batman replied.

Commissioner Loeb lumbered from his spot, his face like a ripe tomato as anger took over. He pushed his way through the crowd and pointed a gun at Batman. His face was already beading with sweat.

"Batman! You're under arrest for the crimes of vigilantism and murder!" he bellowed, "Put your hands up or you'll be shot down!"

"Hey Loeb, point that gun the other way!" Harvey demanded, "In case you didn't realize, Batman just saved my life again!"

"He's still a criminal!" Loeb retorted, "And the fact you support this villain means that you're just as guilty as him! If you don't wanna be arrested for treason Mr. Dent then I suggest you back down now!"

The crowd just yelled angrily, booing at Commissioner Loeb and yelling all sorts of horrible comments at him for his stupidity. Even Jim Gordon wasn't taking any of his superior's nonsense and he stormed up to Loeb, backhanding him and knocking the gun out of his hands. Loeb looked as if he'd been slapped across the face by this act.

"Officer Gordon?! How dare you assault your commissioner..."

"Zip it Loeb!" Gordon snarled, "Nobody's taking anymore of your crap tonight! Batman just saved the District Attorney's life and you want to arrest him for it?! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were unfit to be police commissioner! I suggest you shut the hell up and interrogate the REAL criminal here if you want to save yourself any credibility!"

"How dare you!" the overweight man growled, his face looking even redder than before, "I'll have you know that I could fire you just for saying that Officer! If you want to keep your job then you better watch your tongue and get back in line!"

While the two policemen were arguing, Batman slammed Officer Balant against the steps, Harvey watching him from where he was standing. He wanted to know where this was going. The vigilante gritted his teeth as he held onto the officer and slammed him again and again. The criminal officer had blood oozing down his forehead and over his eyes. He looked like a victim in a really gory horror movie.

"Talk! Why are you trying to kill Harvey?!" Batman demanded viciously.

Balant just smirked at him and promptly spat at his eye. The white lens of the cowl stopped the ball of saliva from hitting his eye. Batman responded by punching him in the mouth.

"Last chance..." he warned.

"Don't know why you're getting so mad at me freak!" Balant sneered, pausing for a moment to cough before adding, "I'm only the distraction!"

Batman felt his nerves tingle with alarm. Distraction? So Balant WASN'T meant to kill Dent? Then who...?

Batman didn't even have time to answer before suddenly, an ear-splitting bang cut through the air and the crowd screamed in terror as one of Harvey's guards suddenly went down. He had stepped forward to question Balant before the shot had been fired. The guard hadn't been the target. The guard crumpled, blood oozing out of a hole that had been punched into his neck. Harvey scrambled, desperate to get out of sight but he was too late. Another shot rang out and this time, the D.A. was struck down by the bullet. He collapsed onto the floor, blood oozing from a graze that had been cut across the top of his head. Loeb and Gordon had been interrupted from their argument by the shots and were horrified to see what had happened. Everything was suddenly happening very quickly now. The crowd erupted into panic with Gilda running on stage to tend to her husband. Every cop on patrol was on the alert, looking for any sign of the assassin. Dent's remaining guard aimed his gun up at the nearby rooftops, searching for the predator. Gilda knelt down by her downed husband, a puddle of blood slowly forming around his head. Batman ran up to her, offering himself as a meat-shield to make sure nobody could shoot at Dent again if they wanted to. Gilda was hysterical, her eyes streaming with tears and her mouth only able to form one sentence repeated over and over.

"HARV! OH GOD, OH GOD HARV!"

Batman looked up at the rooftops, his Detective Vision already switched on. He knew for a fact the shot had come from above. The noise had emitted from a high-up place and with his Detective Vision on, he could actually see the trajectory of the bullet. He had seen a small scuff in the brick work, signifying that the bullet had ricocheted off the wall at about neck height in order to hit Dent's guard in the neck. The killer had wanted to end this very quickly so he had clearly aimed to shoot Dent in the neck. His second shot hadn't ricocheted off of anything, just simply hitting Dent in the head. Batman briefly turned over to analyse Dent's wound. It hadn't in fact penetrated his skull. It had skimmed over his head, leaving the hideous cut that was now still seeping with blood. The shot hadn't killed the D.A., but the wound might. Batman had also noticed the bullet wound had started at the top on the side of Dent's scalp and sliced its way down, further proving the killer was high-up. He looked back up and saw an orange skeleton running across a rooftop nearby. The killer was making his escape! But Batman would make sure he caught him before he got away. He drew out his grappling gun and fired just as Gordon ran up to him, his eyes wide behind his spectacles.

"Batman, what the hell was that?!" he blustered.

"Keep watch on Harvey and get him to a hospital!" Batman shouted, "I've spotted his shooter and am going after him!"

He was swiftly whisked away as the grappling gun retracted, pulling him up as the gun swallowed up the cable it had spat out. Jim watched him disappear before turning to Harvey and barking out orders to Montoya and Snyder. Harvey was in need of a hospital and they had to act fast before they lost him. Jim wasn't about to let Harvey be a victim of Gotham's latest crime.

As for Batman, he reached the building he had grappled onto and pulled himself up. He could see the killer still running away. In the time it had taken him to get onto the rooftop, the assassin had leapt onto another rooftop. Batman charged after the shooter, keen to catch him before he could get away. The assassin seemed to have realized he was being followed for he suddenly turned around and began shooting at Batman, spraying a volley of bullets at him. Batman dived for cover, leaving the bullets to hit only brickwork and a chimney he was now using for cover. His armour maybe bulletproof but it couldn't protect him forever so he preferred to get shot as little as possible. The gunman turned and continued to run, feeling he'd bought himself enough time to get away. Batman came out from his hiding place and threw a Batarang at the assassin. He seemed to hear the bat-shaped weapon coming towards him for he turned around again and blasted it to smithereens. He turned and ran, not realizing that stopping to shoot the Batarang had allowed Batman to catch up to him. The vigilante drew out his grappling gun and fired, the three clawed cable reaching out for the gunman's legs. It seized one of his feet and tripped him up, earning a grunt from him as he hit the concrete. Batman pulled on the cable, dragging the shooter towards him so he could get a proper view of him.

"You've had your last shot assassin." Batman muttered grimly.

He had pulled the assassin to him so now he was close enough to look down at him. He only just had time to register that the assassin was now pointing a gun at him before he leapt back instinctively. Curiously enough, the gunman's weapon appeared to be actually _sitting on_ his arm. He wasn't holding it in his hands like any normal gunman would. The assassin picked himself up and aimed at Batman's head. The costumed crime fighter didn't have time to move. He was too close and had nowhere to hide. He was a sitting duck for this assassin. The vigilante heard only one word from him. One single word.

"...bang!"

And then the gun fired, sending a single bullet straight towards Batman's forehead...

* * *

 _ **It would seem Deadshot's found his target! Is Harvey going to live? Has Batman just been killed? 0_0**_

 _ **Tune in next time to find out!**_


	8. Episode 7: The Next Shot

_Episode 7: The Next Shot_

Batman wasn't even sure what had just happened. One minute he'd been standing, the next, he was now on his back, staring up at the sky with his head suddenly throbbing for no apparent reason. His vision was blurred for a few seconds as he was temporarily distorted by the sudden hit he'd taken. He groaned a sickly groan, lying there completely unsure of which way up he was. He allowed himself a brief moment to collect his thoughts and replay what had just happened. The chase, the assassin, the gun...the shot. The vigilante quickly ran a hand over his head, already expecting to see the telltale bloodstains on his gloved hand that would tell him the worst. His hand was clean. There was no blood. He only felt what seemed like a deep scratch on his cowl. Batman understood why this was. At the very last second, he had managed to lean back just as the gunman had fired. The bullet had hit him, but not at the right angle. Instead of powering straight into his skull, it had skimmed over the top of his forehead, his cowl protecting him from said shot thus explaining why there was no blood, and the impact of the shot was what had left him momentarily distorted, not the actual shot. Despite escaping the worst of the bullet, he still felt as if he'd been hit by a hammer. His head pounded and as he slowly got back to his feet, he could feel the pain as if somebody was squeezing his brain inside his skull. The gunman had watched this with what seemed like inquisitive interest rather than shock. He didn't even seem annoyed that Batman was still alive.

"Heh...you're the first man I've ever shot who's managed to stand up again. You just made this night suddenly more interesting." the assassin crowed.

Batman massaged his forehead, allowing his vision to clear up enough so he could now make out the assassin who had just shot at him. He clearly was no ordinary assassin and it was evident from the body armour that he was wearing. He was clad in red and black armour with a thick chest plate and shoulder-pads, large gauntlets and thick chunky boots. The gauntlets both had single-barrel guns that effectively gave him the impression of having guns attached to his arms, and his upper-arms had black bands containing bullets wrapped around his biceps. He wore a silver mask that covered all of his face except for one eye. His right eye had a red circular lens that was presumably used as a sniper scope for the assassin and his mouth was shielded by a silver mouth-plate that would make any attempt to punch him in the jaw meaningless. He had more bullets around his waist, all held together by a belt with a large bullet-shaped buckle. As well as the guns on his arms, he had a long, black sniper rifle slung on his back, possibly what he had just used to shoot Harvey Dent with. Batman was quietly fascinated, yet repulsed by this man. His costume spelled death in every detail. This was the costume of a man who loved to kill and it sickened him to see so many bullets all over him. His already extreme hatred of guns made him loathe this man even more.

"Bit on the nose, I'd say your costume is." Batman muttered, "Who are you? And why are you trying to kill Harvey Dent?!"

"Who I am is for me to know and nobody else bat boy." the gunman retorted, "But if you wanna call me something, then you can call me Deadshot. Mind you...not many people live long enough to call me anything. As for the D.A.? I thought it'd be obvious, don't you know why anybody shoots anybody in this city?"

"You've been paid..." Batman growled, answering his own question, "By who?"

"Maybe if you can beat me, I might tell you," Deadshot sneered, "But I'm not in the mood for a fight right now. Gotta make sure Dent's actually dead. That shot wasn't perfect and the damage done might not finish him off."

"If you want Dent, you have to get past me." the costumed crime fighter warned, trying to ignore the still lingering pain in his head.

Deadshot just shrugged, as if the threat was nothing more than a casual warning and he didn't care.

"Well...it's your funeral bat," he said nonchalantly, "Although my client might be happy to pay me extra for your death. I hear the Batman's a big pain in the ass for a lot of Gotham's crime bosses."

He then raised both arms and fired at Batman, spraying a volley of bullets at the nocturnal superhero. A rhythm of chattering guns and bullets rang out through the night sky, making anybody who heard the shots look up in fright or quicken their paces to make sure they were well out of the way of whatever gun fight was going on. Batman was quick to react, but not quite quick enough. The damage to his head had made his reaction a little slower so he had been pounded by some of the bullets while he was in mid-leap. They mostly bounced off his abdomen and legs, throwing his leap off course and sending him sprawling. Deadshot took a moment to clock his guns for another round, taking aim and preparing to fire. But Batman had managed to grab something off of his utility belt and he threw it just in time. It was a smoke bomb and it hit Deadshot right between the eyes. The bomb exploded, clouding Deadshot in smoke and making him stagger backwards. His mouth-plate prevented him from breathing any of it in so he wasn't reduced to a coughing, spluttering wreck like many who were hit by the bombs. He uses his red lens to try and spot Batman through the smoke. It was an optic piece that could pick out heat-signatures as well as lock onto his targets. He managed to pick out Batman, but not quick enough. The vigilante had rushed up to the assassin and thrown a terrific punch to the chin that caused Deadshot's head to snap backwards. He fell over onto his backside, almost amazed that Batman could punch so hard. He wasn't able to stand up for his opponent pounced on him, grabbing his wrists and forcing the guns away. He pressed down on Deadshot, keen to keep him pinned so he couldn't shot at him. The sharpshooter clenched his fists, firing his guns with the hope of making Batman loosen his grip with the noise pounding in his ears. Batman managed to fight off the awful sound and keep Deadshot down despite how loud the guns were.

He then yanked on Deadshot's arms and began to spin him around, still holding onto his wrists. He let go, sending Deadshot flying into a galvanized turbine nearby. The assassin hit it, groaning in pain from the impact of flesh and bone slamming into metal. It was lucky for him he had body armour on otherwise the impact might have broken his back. He picked himself up just as Batman came at him again. With his bat-themed costume, he truly was like a monster from a child's nightmare. Deadshot swung his fist up in a terrific uppercut that sent Batman stumbling backwards, a sickening crunch following as Batman felt his nose break. Blood began to pour down over his top lip and he winced as he put a hand over his nose. He held up an arm to block Deadshot as he punched downwards towards his head. All the training he had gone through to reach his current physical condition hadn't prepared him for an opponent like this. Deadshot was clearly very strong, agile and most frightening of all, armed to the teeth. Nothing could've prepared him for a foe like this. Still blocking Deadshot's punches, Batman allowed several thoughts to run through his head. There had to be some weakness to exploit on Deadshot. Every man had a weakness! He leapt back as Deadshot aimed a roundhouse kick at his face. The assassin may have missed but Batman wasn't safe yet. He saw Deadshot raise his arm and aim his arm-mounted gun at him again. He tried to dodge but he was a fraction too slow. The gunman fired, sending a bullet creasing across Batman's side. Although the tough material of his armour protected him from the worst of the shot, it was still enough to send Batman staggering to the side and grimacing in pain. Deadshot seemed to find this amusing, a soft chuckle coming from behind his mouth plate.

"Not bad Batman! Not bad!" he crowed, "I've never met somebody who could match blows with me before! Heh...mainly because they end up dead before they can fight me." he added, his exposed eye narrowing as he cracked a cruel smile behind his mask.

"Guess I'm the lucky one," Batman muttered. He didn't often like to joke or make banter, but in this case, it was a good idea to find anyway to keep the opponent talking. It could help him find a weakness to exploit if he had time to think.

"I'd say you're many things Batman, but lucky? I'm inclined to disagree on that part." Deadshot sneered.

He then raised both his arm guns and prepared to fire. But in the time that had been spent on the conversation, Batman had managed to reach into his utility belt and pull out a stun grenade. He quickly threw it at Deadshot just as his opponent opened fire. The guns hit the grenade, breaking it and releasing the stun flash it contained. The dazzling light hit Deadshot like a punch to the face, making him stagger backwards and wince from the flash. He closed his eyes and put an arm in front of himself to protect himself from the light. While he was momentarily blinded, Batman threw himself straight into the assassin. He was like a huge black bull charging at the matador. Deadshot wasn't even aware he was under attack until he found himself whisked off his feet and thrown down onto the ground. He grunted, the wind almost knocked completely out of him as Batman downed him. Desperate to keep him down, Batman grabbed the gunman's wrists and kept his arms away. Deadshot struggled, trying to throw Batman off of him. The vigilante then swung his head down, head-butting Deadshot between the eyes. That had been a mistake. Deadshot's mask was tough and Batman's head had still been throbbing from the blow to the head he'd received earlier. This attack had caused Batman to make his head hurt again and he released Deadshot to try and ease the pain. Now free, Deadshot slugged Batman in the face and knocked him aside. The assassin picked himself up and kicked Batman, taking him into the air for a brief second, and sending him rolling across the roof before coming to a stop near the edge. Batman groaned a sickly groan, his head pounding and his senses dizzy. He couldn't keep up the fight, not like this. He needed to retreat and buy himself time to recover. He pushed himself up onto his knees just as Deadshot aimed at him once more.

Batman found himself staring into the cold, singular eye of the gun as it trained on him. It was the very same eye of death that his parents had witnessed before their deaths. Cold, black and merciless. Deadshot spared a second to make sure he couldn't miss before muttering a single word.

"...bang!"

And with that, he fired. A single ear-splitting bang tore through the night sky like a thunderclap. Anyone nearby looked up in fear, wondering where the shooter was. But to the surprise and utter disbelief of Deadshot...he had managed to miss! Batman and thrown himself off the roof in the second it had taken Deadshot to fire. The bullet scraped the concrete of the roof, leaving a single groove in it, but it hadn't hit Batman. Shocked by this, Deadshot couldn't move for a minute or two. It was as if the shock of the situation had just hit him like a slap in the face. This was impossible! He never missed! How could this be?! He shook himself out of his surprised state and ran to the side of the roof, looking over it for any sign of Batman. His red lens scanned the darkness below for his prey. It allowed him to see in the dark so if Batman thought the shadows would hide him, he was mistaken. But he couldn't see any sign of the costumed crime fighter. Not even so much as a heat signature. It seemed that his opponent had realized he was beat and had made the wise decision to flee. Not that that mattered of course. Deadshot shrugged and turned away.

"So he turned chicken and ran. Least he knows when he's beat," the assassin sneered, "I'll come for him later, I've got another job to finish. Black Mask won't be happy if Dent isn't dead yet..."

He mentally added Batman to the hit-list he had formed in his head. Said list was very long and had a lot of names. He would make Batman pay for making him miss. But first, the District Attorney. Deadshot knew fully well that even a shot to the head didn't necessarily mean instant death. With improved medicine, surgery and medical treatment, even the deadliest of bullet wounds could be treated. He had also seen from where he was standing that his hit hadn't been perfect. He hadn't sent the bullet straight into Dent's head, he'd only scraped it. There was a chance he could be saved. Well he would make sure that Harvey would never wake up again. He ran towards the edge of the building and leapt off, beginning his search for Harvey Dent...

* * *

As for Batman, after he'd thrown himself off the building, he had been quick to abandon the battle and disappear into the night. He'd used his grappling hook to slow his fall so he landed softly on the ground below. Once he was sure he was far enough away from Deadshot and sure to be out of sight, he had signaled for the Batmobile to come to him. The headache was still there but he could feel it slowly easing. He gently massaged his forehead as he waited for the Batmobile. He already knew what he was going to do once it arrived. Even though Deadshot was still on the loose, he wasn't going to leave Harvey Dent vulnerable to another attack from him. The vigilante already expected what Deadshot was going to do next. He would make sure Dent was dead and would be hunting for him now. Batman was determined to make sure he got there first, and thanks to his many technological resources, he would be a few steps ahead of the assassin.

Soon enough, he heard the engine of his trademark vehicle approaching him. The Batmobile came to a screeching halt just beside the vigilante and Batman quickly climbed inside. As soon as he was seated and he closed the cockpit up, he started the car and drove off. He then pressed a button on the steering column, activating the car's communications system.

"Alfred. Are you there?" he asked.

"As always." came the blunt reply of his butler and father figure, "I saw the news just moments ago. Harvey Dent's been shot and is on his way to hospital now. No doubt you found the shooter?"

"More than that, I actually fought him," Batman replied, "He goes by the name of "Deadshot". He's not easy to miss, he wears a costume like you wouldn't believe."

"Indicating that your costume doesn't already count as "a costume like I wouldn't believe"." Alfred retorted.

"I need you to investigate this "Deadshot" person and see if you can find out anything about him," Batman ordered, "See if we can find anything we can use against him. He'll be coming for Dent to make sure he's really dead."

"I'll look into him immediately." Alfred declared, "Where are you heading now Master Bruce?"

"To hospital, to keep guard over Dent." the Gotham vigilante answered, "Do you know which one he's being taken to?"

"Miss Vale just reported a few seconds ago that he's just arrived at the Gotham Central Hospital," the Englishman replied, "And he's quite critical. I sincerely hope he makes it through."

"I'll see to it that he does..."

With the hospital in mind, Batman steered the Batmobile towards another junction and began heading off to the Gotham Central Hospital. Every minute passing by felt like a race against time and all he could do was pray against all odds that when he arrived at the hospital, he wouldn't have a corpse waiting for him in the hospital morgue...

* * *

Over at the Gotham Central Hospital, Harvey Dent was gently wheeled into one of the hospitals many rooms so that he could undergo treatment immediately. The doctors had already assessed the situation while he was being driven away in the ambulance. Dent was alive, but suffering from a massive head trauma thanks to the bullet skimming his head and required immediate medical attention. It was quite possible that they could lose him from the shock of the attack or blood loss if he wasn't seen to immediately. Of course, news had broken out about the attack. Dent's public speech was on live television so all of Gotham had seen the terrifying moment where somebody tried to attack him only to be stopped by Batman and then another assassin struck down the D.A. Vicki Vale was standing outside the hospital, microphone in hand and a grave look on her face as if she was saddened by what had happened and felt grim about being the one to report on it. This was one of those rare times where she would've happily let Jack Ryder steal her thunder.

"...I am speaking to you, live, in front of the GCH." Vicki reported, trying to keep her voice steady so she could speak, "As of now, District Attorney Harvey Dent has now arrived and his situation, while critical, is not fatal. I'm told that the doctors will get working on him immediately, but it remains to be seen if Harvey will survive this attack. Many people wonder if the Batman will show up to try and apprehend the one who took a shot at him..."

There was nobody in Gotham more concerned for Harvey's well-being than Gilda Dent. Upon watching her husband go down, she had broken down into hysterics and had had to be wrestled away from her love's body so that he could be taken away. It had been hard on Jim Gordon and his men to separate a grieving wife from her stricken husband but it had to have been done if he had any chance of survival. Once Dent had arrived at the hospital, Gilda had been allowed to visit and was currently in the waiting room, dreading the worst possible outcome for Harvey. The brunette knew that the shot had been terrible. Even if it had only scraped his head, it was still bad. She prayed with all her might that Harvey was going to pull through. Why had he decided to go through with this speech tonight?! He should've listened to her and not put himself in hot water! Gilda was already thinking on what to say when the time came to lecture her bed-bound husband.

While Gilda was waiting to see Harvey, Chief Officer Jim Gordon was standing outside the hospital with an old fashioned pipe in his hand. It was something passed down to him from his father before him and he liked to keep hold of it, even if he had been told several times that smoking was bad for him. How his daughter loved to lecture him on that! He lit up the tobacco in the pipe, which was a brand called "Wild Country". It was his favourite tobacco and he never smoked any other brand. He put the pipe to his lips and blew softly, smoke puffing out of the pipe hole. What a night this was! First he had to protect Harvey from any possible attack and upon failing that, he now had the job to protect Harvey from the assassin who would no doubt be coming to finish the job. Of all careers he could've chosen, why a police officer?! Had he known it was this dangerous, he would've picked something else a long time ago. Jim swept his eyes around, keeping watch for any signs of trouble. Smoke continued puffing out of his pipe as he blew on it.

"Dent makes his big speech, then out of nowhere comes the Batman...and then Dent gets shot. I daren't say "It couldn't possibly get any worse" as that's exactly what happens next." the officer muttered, "Who knows what my Babs will think to this when I tell her how my night at work went."

He knew Barbara well enough to know that she would always ask him how his time at work went. Why not? It was in a daughter's best interest to ask her father about his work. It was how families worked. Just as Jim was thinking about what to say to his daughter when the inevitable question came out, he heard the faint sound of an engine coming from somewhere. What was it? Another police car coming by? He looked around but he couldn't see anything. No flashing lights to indicate it was a police car. Maybe it was just another car passing by. Shrugging it off, Jim continued his guard duties, while still puffing on his pipe. Everything remained silent for a few minutes before he turned around...and gasped as the last person he expected to see was now standing before him. Batman had parked the Batmobile, the very engine that Jim had heard, and had departed his vehicle to sneak into the hospital to check on Harvey. He hadn't expected to see Jim Gordon around and had decided to see him. While surprised at his appearance, Jim didn't seem keen to arrest him. He just looked politely interested, almost pleased he was here.

"Whew, no wonder the criminals we lock away never see you coming. You come out of nowhere just like that!" Jim cried, his voice more a loud whisper for he didn't want to draw attention to Batman.

"Is Harvey Dent safe Jim?" Batman asked quickly.

"How do you know my..." Jim quickly regained himself and dismissed the thought for that wasn't important, "Ahem, he arrived at the hospital not too long ago. Harvey's currently being treated for his head wound though that's as much as I know. Dunno if he'll survive or not."

"Are you here to protect him?"

"That's right. I knew that whoever shot Harvey would wanna finish the job so I put myself here to keep watch over him. I have several other men placed strategically around the hospital. Whoever wanted Harvey dead, they'll NEVER get in without being spotted."

"Your men need to fall back Jim." the masked vigilante insisted, "I fought the assassin. He's no pushover and if he wants to get near Dent, he'll shoot every last one of them down before you can give the order to fire. The assassin is a man named Deadshot, or at least he calls himself Deadshot, and he's armed to the teeth. I barely managed to escape with my life before having to flee. He'll be coming for Dent and your men won't have a chance against him."

Jim listened to Batman's warnings and upon hearing the name "Deadshot", his face seemed to lose even more colour for he recognized it. Batman could see it in the chief officer's eyes that he was disturbed by this. He waited for Jim to collect himself so he could speak. Coughing slowly, Jim recovered.

"Deadshot...you're damn lucky you survived against him Batman!" he hissed gravely, "Deadshot is the world's deadliest assassin, or at the least he shares that title with the man known as "Deathstroke" that Star City's been terrorized by. Commissioner Loeb has him at Number 1 on Gotham's Most Wanted list with you directly beneath him! I'm fortunate enough to never have met Deadshot but I've heard all the stories from Loeb and any men who have somehow lived to tell about him. He never misses and his shots tend to be impractical, but somehow they manage to always find their mark! His aim is like nothing we've seen before! If he's the one targeting Dent then I'll pull my men back immediately! I can't risk their lives with that maniac on the lose!"

"I'll stop Deadshot and keep the District Attorney safe Jim." Batman declared, "I'm currently researching him to find a weakness I can exploit. That weakness will put a stop to his night of terror."

"If you were working for me Batman, I would happily refuse to let you go up against that living weapon!" Jim exclaimed, "But I suppose I can't stop you. And let's hope your research pays off."

"Maybe you can help with said research." the crimefighter suggested, "What else do you know about Deadshot?"

Jim paused for a moment to think it over. He didn't take long to reply.

"Not much is known about him aside from what's on file back at GCPD." Jim explained, "At most, we know his name is, supposedly, Floyd Lawton. We don't know if it's his real name or a fake name. We know that he had a brother whom he killed by accident at a young age. Possible connection with his life as an assassin we think, could've turned to killing after that incident. Probably really damaged him psychologically. He seems to have no real regard for human life, but that goes without saying, although rumour has it that there's only one person he genuinely cares about."

Batman filed the information away in his incredible brain, hoping it could be useful. He waited for Jim to carry on, wondering what he was going to say next.

"We're not sure what that one person is given again, it's just a rumour, and we have no concrete evidence to support this." the policeman said, "But the rumour says that Deadshot actually has a child of his own. We don't know if it's a son or a daughter or what the child's name is. I wouldn't have associated Deadshot with being a family man but hey, even killers can have some surprising secrets I guess."

Batman nodded agreeably. If the rumour was true then Jim had just helped him identify Deadshot's weakness! He was about to leave and head into the hospital before Jim stopped him. The caped crusader turned to hear what Jim had to say.

"He's in Room 193 in Corridor 9." he said, "You can maybe stand by his window or by his door. You know...you seem quite determined to save Harvey don't you?" he asked suddenly.

"He's a man I happen to admire. I'd rather he didn't end up a victim of Gotham's criminals." Batman replied simply.

"You're nothing like what Loeb thinks that much is certain. You're like Gotham's own protector, almost like a white knight only darker..." Gordon murmured, "A Dark Knight perhaps? Tell me Batman, why do you do this? What exactly do you get out of it?"

Batman allowed the question to hang in the air for a minute before he responded. He gave only a single sentence. A brief sentence, no more than three words, but one that cut straight to the point.

"A better Gotham."

He walked towards the hospital, lurking in the shadows so he wouldn't be seen. Jim just repeated Batman's last three words in his head, hearing them echo as he pondered of them. A better Gotham...quite a noble cause to strive for. He was none the wiser about this mysterious vigilante but he had a better idea on what he was. He maybe operating outside of the law, but he clearly had the city's best interest at heart. A true hero if ever there was one. He turned away to leave Batman to get to his work, blowing on his pipe again.

"A better Gotham..." he repeated one last time, "...I think we all strive for that in this city."

As Jim continued his nightly patrol, Batman pressed on the comlink in his cowl again. He had to let Alfred know what he'd learnt from Jim.

"Alfred?" he asked.

"Right here sir. No doubt you're wondering about my research into this "Deadshot" fellow." Alfred replied.

"Have you found anything yet?" Batman asked, "I came across Jim Gordon earlier and he gave me some information on Deadshot."

"My word, you managed to speak to a cop and NOT get arrested. I am impressed..." the butler replied snarkily, "What has he told you?"

Batman quickly relayed the information Jim had passed onto him, including the rumour about Deadshot having one person he cares about. Alfred listened to everything his master said before taking over.

"I came across that rumour when I was looking him up too." Pennyworth explained, "I dug in a bit and ended up coming across a phone call he had with a previous client from a previous assignment. He does indeed have a child. In that phone call, he mentions the fact he has a daughter in it and thus, I looked into that."

"Any names you found?"

"It appears to be Zoe Lawton. It would appear Master Bruce that we have identified Deadshot's weakness."

Batman nodded agreeably. Deadshot only cared for one person in the world. That person was his daughter. Batman was honestly, rather disgusted to think that any woman in the world would've been crazy enough to actually sire a child with a man like Deadshot. But he now had something to use against him. Question was...could he risk it?

"I hope you're not suggesting we put the girl's life in danger just to make him surrender." Alfred put in, reading Bruce's thoughts. His voice sounded worried, clearly hoping that Batman's answer would be what he wanted to hear.

"No, we won't put her in danger. She'll merely put an end to it..." Batman replied.

* * *

A couple of hours had passed since Batman had arrived at the hospital. Upon finding Dent's room, Batman had grappled up to the windowsill and was now standing by the D.A.'s window. He could see him lying in bed through the window, taking in the sight of his bandaged head and the doctors working on him. During those two hours, he had watched them treat Harvey's head trauma as best as they could and had seen Gilda come in to see how her husband was doing. She had been hysterical at first but had visibly calmed down upon being briefed by the doctors. Batman heard them speak and had even watched as Gilda's face lit up with a smile of relief. They told him he was stable and that although Harvey was in a coma, he wouldn't be in it for long and would eventually come out of it now the trauma was beginning to lessen. The D.A. was going to live! The Dark Knight allowed himself the rare luxury of a smile upon hearing this. His friend had cheated death once again. But it wasn't over yet and he knew it. Deadshot was still out there and he'd be coming to finish the job. To keep an eye out for him, Batman had unpacked a pair of hi-tech binoculars from his utility belt and had switched it to night-vision so he could spot Deadshot coming, even if it was completely dark outside.

He had explained his plan to Alfred and although neither of them really liked it, they both agreed it was the best thing to do. Putting a child in danger was the last thing Batman would've wanted to do. He thought back to Lian Harper and how he'd tried his damnedest to keep her safe no matter what happened to him. He was confident that this Zoe Lawton would put an end to the danger rather than getting into the danger herself. He had already planned on what would happen if the child didn't put a stop to Deadshot. At the very least she would distract him enough so he could incapacitate him. A stun grenade to blind him and then a quick blow to the head would do the trick. With his training, Batman had made it a priority to ALWAYS have a contingency plan.

There had been no sign of Deadshot in the couple of hours that had gone by. Batman had felt every single second pass by as the night dragged on. It was the one downside to being on the alert, time just seemed to slow down and take an age to pass. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours. Batman still refused to let his guard down though. He would not give Deadshot ANY chance to kill Harvey. He wouldn't even let himself rest for a minute if he had to. He was quite pleased to see that Jim had been good to his word and had pulled his men back at least. He hadn't spotted a single police officer on site ever since he'd watched the last one leave an hour ago. At least only his life would be at risk for now and nobody else would get caught up in the crossfire. It was a priority Batman vowed to stick to: never let anybody else's life be put at risk except his own.

Then suddenly, the Dark Knight caught sight of something dark green moving in the corner of his binoculars. He turned them to the side and saw a dark green shape moving on a building that was much further away than it looked to him due to the binoculars being zoomed in very far. He put the binoculars away and switched on his detective vision to see if the man was armed. The world turned blue all around him once again and the man he'd spotted seemed to turn inside out as his skeleton was made visible to him. It glowed red, registering the man as armed. Deadshot? Could be him, but it could easily be just another man with a gun. He might not even be targeting Dent. Batman was still going to take him down anyway. No killer with a gun walked free while he was around! The bat-themed vigilante threw himself off the windowsill and fired his grappling gun, grabbing hold of a lamppost just ahead and quickly retracting it so it pulled him through the air at top speed. He catapulted over the lamppost and hurled through the air, gliding towards a building before grappling up onto it and climbing onto the roof. As soon as he was up, he ran towards the edge and leapt towards another building. His keen eyes caught sight of the man he'd seen earlier, who was now only a couple of buildings away from him. He had been right from the start, it was Deadshot! He had come to finish what he'd started at last!

The bullet-laden assassin had clearly been setting up what would've been the shot to finish off Harvey Dent. He was holding a rifle in his hands and was down on his knees, aiming at the hospital and preparing to fire. He was about to lie down and take aim when Batman arrived on the building he was on. The soft sound of Batman's boots landing on concrete didn't deter Deadshot. The sound had been too quiet for him to hear. This gave Batman the perfect opportunity to aim his grappling gun at Deadshot and fire, snagging his rifle with the cable. He retracted the cable, tearing the gun straight out of the assassin's hands and bringing it to him. Deadshot was up on his feet in an instant, clocking the guns on his arms and aiming angrily. His exposed eye was a tiny dot of fury, angered to have been interrupted during an assassination attempt for a second time. He didn't get the chance to shoot for Batman swung the rifle around and walloped him, knocking him clean off his feet and crashing down onto his side. A spasm of pain shot through Deadshot's shoulder and spread to his fingers, numbing his arm for a moment. He tried to pick himself up but Batman pounced on him and grabbed hold of both his arms, pining him down. Both men grunted as they struggled against each other, trying to break free of the grapple.

"Should I even be surprised you decided to show up again and meddle with my business?!" Deadshot snarled.

"You should've been better prepared." Batman retorted.

"Oh I will be. Because next time I try to kill Dent, you won't be there to save him!" the gunman declared.

He swung his head forward, slamming it between Batman's eyes and momentarily disorienting him. This allowed Deadshot to throw the Gotham vigilante off of him and get back to his feet. Normally, he would've been tempted to shoot Batman dead but he knew that he'd just waste ammo by doing so since Batman was incredibly fast and manoeuvrable and would just dodge his shots like last time. He'd wait until Batman was too weakened to move before finishing him off, that way he wouldn't miss. He instead grabbed Batman and hoisted him up off the floor. He dragged the Dark Knight over to the edge of the building and threw him straight off. That would surely finish him off or at best, severely cripple him! But as the crimefighter plummeted, he quickly spread out his cape and glided down to safety, slowing his descent and leaving his opponent speechless. He was so stunned that he couldn't even move for a minute. He shook it off and unloaded a grappling hook from one of the pouches on his trousers.

"Man, you keep surprising me." the assassin sighed irritably, hooking the hook on the edge of the building and using the cable to climb down to the ground.

As soon as Batman landed, he spun around and saw Deadshot climbing down after him. Had he become more ruthless, he would've easily drawn out a Batarang and cut Deadshot's line so he'd fall to his death. But Batman couldn't kill, not even if it was a man like Deadshot. He instead waited until Deadshot was close to the ground before he did just that, throwing the Batarang with perfect accuracy and severing the cable Deadshot was climbing down with. The assassin cried out as he fell the last few feet to the ground, his fall briefly slowed by an awning directly beneath him. He tore straight through the awning and landed on top of a table, breaking the legs and knocking it down onto its side, knocking over some chairs around it at the same time. The assassin groaned, wondering what had just happened before Batman came charging towards him. He was grabbed, hoisted off his feet and thrown into another table, knocking it over and spilling whatever was sitting on it. Deadshot picked himself up and kicked the table towards Batman. Batman caught it and threw it aside, only just realizing Deadshot had done that to distract him as his opponent landed a powerful punch in his jaw. The Gotham vigilante staggered, almost falling over. Deadshot elbowed him in the stomach, then punched upwards and then spun around in a roundhouse kick that slammed directly into his opponent's shoulder. Batman came crashing down directly in front of a chair, which he quickly grabbed and swung it directly into Deadshot. The chair was reduced to splinters upon impact and left Deadshot so stunned that he didn't even know what happened next as Batman followed it up by driving his knee into his gut.

The gunman spluttered, feeling the injuries he'd just received but still determined not to give up. It would take more than a fall and some tables and chairs to stop him! He decided to resort to his favourite tactic, no longer caring if he wasted any ammo. At the most, he'd at least get lucky and maybe wound Batman with his hailfire of bullets. He aimed his arm-mounted guns and opened fire. The terrifying sound of guns chattering tore through the night sky, the barrels flashing and bullets spraying everywhere. Batman was hit by some of the shots, his suit absorbing most of the impact. He dived behind a table, but not for long as it was quickly disintegrated by the volley of bullets coming his way. Batman aimed his grappling gun at a lamppost, hoping to get up high and out of Deadshot's way. His grapple gun grabbed the lamppost and he pulled himself up towards it. But Deadshot saw what he was doing and aimed up, hitting him several times and causing him to let go of his gun for the constant slamming of bullets into his body was too much for him. He plummeted to the ground, rolling to a stop and grimacing from the impact. Deadshot laughed coldly as he approached his enemy. Batman stood up, but was brought back down just as quickly for Deadshot suddenly shot him directly in the knee. Batman screamed in anguish as his kneecap shattered and blood oozed out of the wound. He was stuck lying on the ground, completely helpless as the man who would finish him off came closer. His exposed eye gleamed as he took aim.

"Don't feel too bad Batman. You at least can die knowing you lasted longer than any opponent I've ever faced." the marksman sneered, "And I'll tell Harvey you said hi too..."

The gun on his right arm was aimed directly at Batman's head. His opponent was down, too injured to get up. He couldn't miss, he was going to make his second kill of the night! But just as he was about to shoot, the sound of tyres screeching across the tarmac made him look up in surprise. There was a car coming, and not just any car either. It was a sports car, very sleek and elegant in design and clearly very expensive. The car screeched to a halt directly in front of Batman and Deadshot. The mercenary stared in surprise, wondering what was happening.

"You got a friend in there?" he sneered, wondering how desperate Batman must be to ask some punk in a sports car to come and save him.

"Yes. And he's also got somebody who wants to see you." Batman replied bluntly.

The reply had puzzled Deadshot. Who in the whole wide world would ever want to see him? He watched as somebody got out of the car. Said somebody appeared to be a stereotypical English butler with a serious face and little hair. The sight of the man made the gunman almost want to laugh. This man couldn't look more stereotypical even if he wanted to! But the gentleman wasn't the only one to get out of the car. Somebody else emerged from the vehicle, staring at Deadshot with wide, innocent eyes. The sight of this person made the assassin flinch, taken aback at who it was. It was his daughter, Zoe Lawton. Zoe didn't look very old, probably the same age as Lian Harper whom Batman had protected from Black Mask's goons the other night. She had large brown eyes and had her black hair cut in a bob style. She was dressed in a pink dress worn over a lighter pink shirt. She had the sort of face that could melt the heart of even the most stone-hearted of people. Her presence seemed to have the desired effect for Deadshot was completely frozen, unable to so much as speak. It was as if Zoe being here had completely switched him off and he could no longer move.

"Dad?" Zoe asked, staring incredulously at him, "Is that you? Why are you dressed like that? Are you going to kill somebody?"

She seemed horrified at the sight of her father covered with bullet belts and wearing guns on his arms. Deadshot didn't move, nor did he say anything. He was trying to process many things at once. How did Batman know he had a daughter? How was he even able to find her?! Nobody but him was supposed to know where Zoe was! His paralyzed state quickly turned to anger as he looked back at Batman, the gun still pointing at him.

"You bastard...how could you bring her here?!" Deadshot snarled viciously, "You dare put her in danger?! YOU DARE?!"

"She's only in danger because you're the one holding the gun." Batman retorted, "For her sake, I suggest you put them down and turn yourself in."

Deadshot seemed to be unwilling to comply, still pointing the gun at Batman. His frame shook as if he was trying to hold back all the anger and rage that was building up in him. But as he prepared to kill, Zoe ran over to Batman and threw herself down over him, shielding his head from her father. Now Zoe was the one in Deadshot's line of fire. The assassin didn't budge.

"Move Zoe." he demanded.

"Please dad! Don't do it!" the young girl pleaded, "Please! Don't kill him daddy!"

Deadshot stared hard at his daughter, who only looked back at him with large, tearful eyes. The assassin was coiled like a spring, ready to pull the trigger. He had to kill Batman, he just had to! He could do it! It was that simple! But Zoe seemed unwilling to move. She remained where she was, keeping Batman's head out of sight. She remained still, never moving an inch. Batman waited to see what would happen, his hand already clutching the stun grenade he would throw if he had to. The seconds passed by tensely, nobody daring to so much as breathe. Deadshot began to shake, but this wasn't from anger. It was guilt and shame. Guilt from the fact he was actually pointing a gun at his own daughter and shame that she had been brought into this. He had known that this would happen eventually and should've been prepared. A small tear escaped from Deadshot's exposed eye but he didn't wipe it away. He didn't want to show weakness, not even to his own child. After what seemed like an age passed, Deadshot...finally lowered his arm. He didn't just lower his arm though, he also unclipped the guns from around his arms. They came down on the ground with a clatter. He then got down onto his knees, his arms hanging limp by his sides. Zoe stood up away from Batman and embraced her father, clearly pleased he hadn't killed him. Deadshot embraced her back, completely forgetting about Batman for the time being.

"Daddy, why were you going to kill that man? Are you a murderer? Why are you a murderer?!" Zoe wailed, completely distraught.

"It's a long and complicated story..." Deadshot murmured, "Daddy's only sorry you got caught up in this Zoe."

Alfred helped Batman back up, draping one arm around his shoulders to help him stand. The vigilante still had blood oozing from his shattered knee. The two shared a look of relief between them, pleased to see that this had gone well.

"Well thank heavens for that..." the butler sighed.

"Did you contact Jim?" Batman asked curiously.

"I called him as soon as I picked up Miss Lawton." Alfred explained, "He'll be arriving any moment now."

As if right on cue, the sound of police sirens cut through the night as several police cars arrived, screeching to a halt and their occupants filing out to quickly surround Deadshot. The assassin didn't even resist as Jim Gordon and Officers Snyder, Kane and Finger stood around him, ready to attack if he so much as sneezed at them...

* * *

"Tonight went better than expected, I'll admit." Pennyworth said as he finished wrapping a bandage around Bruce's damaged knee, "I had honestly expected a bit of a massacre."

"Let's just be grateful that it didn't go from bad to worse." Wayne said nonchalantly.

Once Deadshot had been arrested and bundled into a police car, Batman had been helped into the sports car and quickly driven back to Wayne Manor for medical attention. Zoe Lawton had been taken into custody by Jim and Deadshot had urged him to contact her mother, a Michelle Torres, and get her to pick the girl up as soon as possible. Torres would look after her and keep her safe for now. Jim had been quick to thank Batman for helping he and his men put away the most dangerous man in Gotham. The city would be much safer with the deadliest marksman in the world now behind bars. He doubted that Deadshot would be walking free anytime soon. Batman hadn't said much, preferring to just leave as quickly as possible. Now he was back home, lying on a comfortable sofa as Alfred tended to his shattered knee.

"I think you'll have to hang up the cape and cowl for a bit Master Bruce." Alfred said matter-of-factly, "A shattered kneecap takes a while to recover you know."

"I'll be out there again the moment I can walk again." Bruce declared, "I can't stay out of commission for long. There's still the Big Three and Copperhead to deal with and they won't wait for me."

"I would point out how you can let the police handle them for the time being. But I'm not going to because I know you'll just ignore me." the Englishman sighed, sounding a little irritated, "Nevertheless, you must have at least a couple of weeks R&R before you go out as Batman again."

"I'll rest as long as I feel I need to." the billionaire insisted, "So how was you able to find Zoe?"

"It wasn't easy." Alfred admitted, "Deadshot had made sure she would be hard to find. I just happened to pick up a chance call that Zoe made to her mother, asking if she'd seen her father at all. I traced the call back to its location and thus, was able to find her. I just knocked on the door and when she answered, I just let her know I knew where her father was and drove straight to your location. Thank heavens your utility belt carries a tracking beacon for whenever I need to find you..."

"We both agreed that would come in handy one day." Bruce nodded, "At least Zoe's with somebody more desirable than her father right now. I feel sorry for her, knowing now that her father's a hired killer. If my father had been anything like that..."

He paused, not wanting to carry on. What a horrible thought that would be, if his father was a bad man who killed for money like Deadshot! He would be sorry he ever tried to avenge his death. Alfred nodded understandingly.

"I'm sure the poor girl will recover from the shock of it all." he said sympathetically, "At least Harvey won't die now that ghastly man's behind bars."

"I have a feeling whoever wanted him dead will try and finish the job." Bruce said cryptically, "Deadshot won't be the only one that'll be hired to do it. With him arrested, his client will just hire someone else."

"And who do you suppose that client is?"

"One of the Big Three obviously. And given Black Mask was blaming the deaths of his men on me in yesterday's paper, I have a strong feeling it'll be him..."

The two men mulled this over in their minds, both agreeing that Black Mask was the likeliest suspect. If he was the one who had hired Deadshot, then who knew who he would hire next to try and kill the D.A. All they knew was that Harvey wasn't safe yet, not while the Big Three were still in power and eager to kill anybody who tried to paint Batman in a good light. Bruce knew for a fact that his best friend would be seeing him in the cape and cowl again very soon...

* * *

Meanwhile at Sionis Manor, Black Mask had been watching the news very closely and hadn't been very happy to hear that Deadshot was now behind bars. He wasn't worried about Deadshot exposing him though for he knew that the gunman would keep quiet. He never told anybody who his clients were so at the very least, he would still be in the dark. But the fact his best assassin had been beaten by Batman and was now incarcerated was enough to make him go insane. How did he do it?! How could Batman defeat the best killer in the world?! He had made a complete mess of his study in a fit of rage, screaming like mad throughout the whole thing. Harvey was still alive, Batman was seen as a hero for protecting him! How could everything go so wrong in the span of one night?!

His girlfriend, Tiffany Ambrose, had heard the rampage and had peeked in to see what was happening. She had gasped in horror upon seeing her boyfriend overturn his desk and rip the drawers out, sending papers scattering everywhere. Black Mask saw her and was quick to demand that she leave. He wasn't angry to see her, he just didn't want to hurt her in his blind rage.

"Leave Tiff. Your Roman Sionis needs some alone time..." he muttered.

"You sure Si? Cause I could maybe help ya out in anyway I can..." Tiffany protested.

" **GET! OUT!"**

The Brooklyn woman didn't dare argue back with her boyfriend. She quickly closed the door and left him in peace. Once the industrialist was alone again, he let out one final roar of anger before strolling over to a seat he hadn't destroyed and slumped down in it to let himself settle down. As much as he'd hated his parents back when they were alive, they did have the occasional words of wisdom that he knew he should abide to. Every cloud has a silver lining and things may look bad now but they would soon get good again. He could just as easily hire somebody else to kill Dent. Black Mask ran his hands over his masked features, feeling the anger easing away in his nerves. He let out a relieved sigh as he began to relax.

"That's better..." he murmured, "Now then, Floyd's incarcerated so if I wanna axe the D.A. off, I'll just call another assassin. I have plenty of options. Deathstroke, The Electrocutioner, that Shiva woman from the Yakuza gangs in Japan, maybe even Cheshire! If Harvey thinks he's safe from me, he's got another thing coming! And Batman better watch out for I could easily send any of those guys against him too!"

He lay back in his seat, tapping the mouth section of his skull-shaped mask thoughtfully.

"Not tonight though. They'll be expecting that. I'll wait a night or two and then I'll send an assassin after Dent...and Batman too." he added gleefully, "That freak will be sorry he ever crossed paths with Black Mask!"

Then suddenly, the door opened up and in walked Tiffany once again. She looked nervous, as if entering the lion's den and hoping she wasn't about to be bitten. Black Mask leapt out of his chair angrily.

"I thought I told ya ta piss off Tiff! I ain't ready ta see anybody tonight!" he exploded.

"S-s-sorry handsome!" Tiffany stammered, "B-b-but dis is urgent! The boys j-j-just got back ta me with some terrible news!"

The masked crime lord stared incredulously at his moll as if she'd said something incredibly silly. He could feel the anger welling back up in his bloodstream once again.

"What news...?" he snarled.

"We just lost some of our territory in Park Row!" Tiffany explained, "Our boys there were slaughtered expect for a few, who came back ta tell me da news!"

"Who did it?! Who's taking my territory?!" Black Mask demanded.

The blonde woman gulped as if unsure whether to answer his question before replying. She said four words. Four words that Black Mask had hoped he wouldn't be hearing again anytime soon. Four words that would make his night even worse than it already was.

"The Red Hood Gang!"

* * *

 _ **Oh my gosh...looks like somebody's declaring war on Black Mask! But who would be crazy enough to do that? Aside from Thorne and Falcone of course. XD Who are the Red Hood Gang? Will they control Gotham? And most of all...can Batman stop them? Tune in next time for "The Red Hood"...**_


End file.
